Self-Portrait Experiment

 Selfportrait

                                               Marianne von Werefkin

                                                                                                              painting                                         

                                                                         1910

            Staedtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus Kunstbau

 Self-Portrait

                                                              Vincent van Gogh

                                                                    Oil on canvas

                                                                                1889

                                                                    57 x 43.5 cm

                         National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C.

 Self-portrait with Skeleton

                                                                                            Lovis Corinth

                                                                                            Oil on canvas

                                                                                                       1896

                                                                                              66 x 86 cm

                                           Staedtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus Kunstbau

 Self-portrait

                                                                                  Katherine Brown

                                              colored pencil, crayon, marker on paper

                                                                                                   2013

                                                                                            4 x 5.5 in.

I enjoy the bright, bold colors of the first self-portrait above by Marianne von Werefkin.  I like how van Gogh's self-portrait that I selected has wavy, seemingly radiating lines similar to those in some of his other works.  I like the irony of the self-portrait by Lovis Corinth shown above- it shows, presumably, how he looked at the time the painting was done and how he might look after death.

For my self-portrait I used crayon, colored pencil and marker because I am studying to be an elementary school teacher, so these media have been and will continue to be a part of my life.

It took some contemplating to decide what my pose should be and whether anyone else should be in my self-portrait.  I knew I wanted to demonstrate that I love to help others, especially children.  Looking at the works shown above helped me decide that I did want to use color, because I think it communicate liveliness.  They also inspired me to reveal some aspects of my personality.  The one crayon I was using was rubbing off a strange dark pigment, so I had to look for another similar one.  I also found a picture to guide my drawing, since I am not skilled at drawing from memory.

My portrait hopefully reveals my love for children and desire to relate to and help them.

In my drawing, colors help to distinguish shapes.  Simple lines hint at an elementary skill level, a child-like quality.  I wanted the drawing to look like it could have been done by a child.  The two figures are balanced on either side of the center of the work.  There is an implied line created by their glances which meet.  The clasped hands are emphasized as they are in the center.  

I enjoyed attempting to portray my personality and goals in a self-portrait.  I enjoy working with the materials that I used.

My drawing could have been more carefully executed had I had more time.

  

Practicing Working As an Art Critic

     I recently viewed several art exhibition projects.  A few of the titles are With Life, Comes Death, Comics, The Visions Through Faith, Nature of the World, and Nature.  I chose to write an article critiquing Nature by Britten Walker (rather than choosing any of the others) for a few reasons.  First, I am personally interested in art that is related to nature.  Second, I had confidence that I could write about this theme, since it is familiar.  I was not at all confident that I could write on the topic of comics, in contrast.  Third, in perusing these exhibits I found that Nature had some excellent commentary accompanying the works, that would inspire my writings about it.
     In writing an article about this exhibit, as though I was an art critic, I had a few challenges.  I was uncertain of how to organize my thoughts.  I had to experiment with this as I went along.  I wanted to make the exhibit or gallery intriguing to potential viewers in what and how I wrote, so I carefully selected certain descriptions and sought to write in an engaging manner.
     It was a bit uncomfortable to point out the flaws of the exhibit.  I recognized, though, that this information can be helpful both to its creator and potential viewers.  I would appreciate a similar critique of my work for this reason- so I could improve it and learn from others who have more knowledge.
     I would give my completed article an 8 (on a scale of 1 to 10), since it is well done, yet it lacks some of the experience and expertise that a true critic can offer readers.
     This project was enjoyable in that it challenged me to write in a way that I have not, since I had to think primarily about art in doing so and act as an art critic.

Art Criticism

     In the video Greenberg on Art Criticism: An Interview by T. J. Clark, from “Films on Demand” I heard firsthand from art critic Clement Greenberg about his work.  He explains that, in his view, the most important component of a critique of a visual artwork is the value judgment of the work.  This judgment is not based on personal beliefs or preferences but simply on the quality of the work.  He does not believe that there are any standards in the visual arts to which new works should be held.  Rather, he believes that if an artwork is perceived as beautiful or creative, for example, then it is worthy of praise.  Art ought only be relevant to be “good.”  He also does not believe that a critic needs to have a lot of knowledge of art history in order to judge a recent work.  He also mentions that good art is made when an artist puts himself fully into his work.

     The video The Colonial Encounter: Views of Non-Western Art and Culture (from “Films on Demand”) has several examples of inappropriate art.  The video gives an overview of the exhibits from the 1900 Paris World Fair.  The fair was divided up into exhibitions representing various countries.  Two of these exhibits, those that represented Algeria and Dahome, used visual art in a way that misrepresented these peoples.  There were photographs of nude men and women in the Dahome exhibit that were supposedly used in a scientific way- certain features of the body were measured in order to determine the intelligence levels of the individuals pictured.  Yet, these photos were very evocative and the subjects did not seem happy to be photographed in this way.  This exhibit also had images of the Dahomans being very violent towards one another.  This was probably meant to foster attitudes in viewers that the French take-over of this region was for the benefit of the Dahomans.  In the Algerian display, belly-dancing  was seen in many images, giving the idea that this practice held greater importance in this country than it did in actuality.

     The first video mentioned helped me to consider how I might go about critiquing the artwork of my peers for the project I am working on.  I will keep cultural relevance in my thinking.  The second video reminded me of the importance of respecting the individuals portrayed in art.

     The first video gave me insights into the ways some art critics think and how they come to their conclusions.  The second taught me that the processes of the creation of artworks and their ultimate uses should be considered when critiquing them.

Acting as a Curator

I just finished a project using Microsoft Powerpoint, where I created an art exhibition entitled Motion & Movement.  I chose this for my theme and title, since methods for demonstrating motion in art is intriguing to me.  I selected and organized 15 works into a logical, enjoyable presentation of varied works of art (including architecture, sculpture, painting, and video).  These artworks exemplify the following: the use of line and other elements and principles of art to give the idea of movement, works that require the movement of viewers for a full appreciation of them, works that document the movements of the artist, historical movements and the movement of time.  I used the ArtLex website, Google, and Bing to locate the works.  I selected the majority of my works from among those referenced in Living with Art, 10th Ed. by Mark Getlein, since I have been studying these and it is important for a curator to be familiar with the works in her exhibit.  This was a valuable exercise as it gave me the opportunity to explore an interest of mine and to think about the artworks I have studied in terms of themes that connect them.

The Work of the Curator

     The following videos from “Films on Demand” all relate to the work of art gallery staff such as curators and directors: The Lowdown on Lowbrow: West Coast Pop Art, Displaying Modern Art: The Tate Approach, Bones of Contention: Native American Archaeology, An Acquiring Mind: Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan.  Below I have briefly described each.

     The first video mentioned above introduces viewers to what has been referred to as “Lowbrow” art or Pop Surrealism.  These artworks might be rejected for display by renowned art galleries due to their subject matter or styles.  They often contain images from pop culture and can have a lot of nudity.  Lowbrow art is designed to appeal to the carnal desires of viewers.  One main purpose for its display in galleries is to attract like-minded people who can enjoy this social scene.  Some Lowbrow art has become very well known and is considered fine art and has been displayed in some well-known art galleries.  Much of it, though, is displayed in small, privately owned galleries since other galleries will not accept it.

     The second video describes the unique approach that the Tate Gallery takes in displaying their art.  The gallery has four main areas, each representing a category such as “landscape.”  This is a very different approach than the traditional one, used by MoMA for example, where art is placed in chronological sequence, according to style.  There have been criticisms of Tate’s approach, such as that this may cause viewers to read more into a work (based on the category it is grouped under) than the artist would have intended.  Yet, that is not necessarily the case.  The video points out that curators seek to organize rooms and works in order to create attention-getting scenes and that art can be enjoyed without a lot of background knowledge about works.

     The third video provides some historical background to the Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990.  This act required museums to return bones of Native Americans to their original tribes.  Some scientists were concerned that this would mean a great loss of important resources that could be studied to find cures for disease or information about migration patterns, for example.  Some Native Americans stressed to the museums that they wanted the bones returned immediately.  One tribe, the  Omaha, decided to allow the University of Nebraska to study the bones of their ancestors before returning them for reburial.  The study uncovered some valuable information that the Omaha were grateful to receive.  This video reminds viewers of the dilemmas that can arise in working with artifacts and determining who has the right to do what with them.

     The fourth video provides a behind-the-scenes look at how The Metropolitan, under the direction of Philippe de Montebello, expanded their art collection.  Curators had to present a work before a committee, who would vote on which works should be purchased.

     The first video relates to my creation of an Art Exhibition slideshow in that my project will be an electronic, online “gallery” of sorts, comparable to a small gallery used to display Lowbrow art.  This sort of presentation allows for the public display of art online.  The second video inspired me to come up with creative ways of organizing art in a display.  The third challenged my notions of what art is (photos of items such as bones may offend some).  The fourth video gave me some ideas about criteria for selecting works for my display.  These videos were helpful  and relevant to this project.