The artwork I chose for the art criticism project was ‘The Survivors’ by Kathe Kollwitz. The piece was created in 1923 in Berlin, Germany, where she resided with her husband. She and her husband resided in a poorer area, and it is believed to have contributed too much of her artwork style. ‘The Survivors’ is currently displayed in two museums, the MoMA and the Kathe Kollwitz Museum. In the piece there is a woman directly in the middle, with sunken in cheek bones is draped in a black cloak. Her arms are around three small children, who look very frightened. On each side of her body there are an additional four small children who convey sadness upon their innocent faces. Also, they are outstretching their arms as if they are begging for her to give them something. In the background, on the top left side, there are two elderly men with their heads down, looking as if they are very sad and …show more content…
One of the elderly men has a bright white beard that contrasts the woman’s cloak greatly. On the top right side of the background, there are two younger men looming behind the woman, their eyes are covered in bright white bandages and they are looking as if they need some form of guidance from the woman. Analyze Furthermore, the art piece is only in shades of black and white, which really intensifies the sadness and darkness. The expressions on the faces, the quality of the lines, the texture, and the absence of color capture the deep emotion of the figures in such a compelling way. During the period in which the piece was created, it was popular to paint in a socialistic style. Kollwitz accurately did this in all of her pieces by depicting social movements, peasant uprisings, the impact of war, and the life of the worker. Her style can be categorized even further by saying that it was a form of German expressionism. This
Art is trapped in the cage of society, constantly being judged and interpreted regardless of the artist’s intent. There is no escaping it, however, there are ways to manage and manipulate the cage. Two such examples are Kandinsky 's Little Pleasures, and Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain. Both pieces were very controversial and judged for being so different in their time, but they also had very specific ways of handling the criticism and even used it to their advantage. We will be looking at the motivations for each artwork, what made the art so outrageous, and the public’s reaction to the pieces.
People can have many different opinions depending on a topic, but what is truly difficult is getting a complete level of understanding from every opinion, or understanding the point of view of each opinion. Even accepting the points of view can be difficult for some people, who believe that their opinions are right. Luckily, people can learn about the other person’s frame of reference, and at the very least understand the topic or the person a little better. This particular topic is art, which is known for its multiple possible perceptions or its many different messages that it can send a person or group of people. In this way, people can learn more about the thought processes and feelings of others. Unfortunately, with differing opinions,
Furthermore, Kathe Kollwitz lived a very prodigious yet dynamic evocative life and her legacy will be in eternal revere. She was born on July 8, 1867 in Konigsberg of East Prussia. She was born in the mid-late years of the 19th century. Kollwitz had the desire to study art and pursued this ambition in Berlin. She worked under Karl Stauffer-Bern at the sc...
Though criticism has taken on a negative connotation in the English language, and artists can fear or reject it, criticism is not inherently bad. In fact, both Wharton and Carrol claim that positive and negative (constructive) criticisms are beneficial to the artist and their audience. According to Wharton, artists use professional criticism to see how others may perceive their work. By obtaining that secondary viewpoint, the artist can use the critic’s educated analysis to improve a specific work or their art in general (Wharton, 42). In addition, a critic’s interpretation of a work of art is perfect for determining how off-centered their intended outcome for the work is, and what to refine in order to convey their message clearer in the next iteration or masterpiece. Regarding the audience, Carrol supports by asserting that, “The common reader expects guidance from the critic concerning what is worthy in an artwork” (Carrol 14). As oftentimes the audien...
Often artists can express complex emotions in a form of a single subject matter. For example, the movement of abstract expressionism originating in the middle of the twentieth century was an approach to modernism/ post-modernism accentuating the uninhibited expression of emotions. The products of this genre are characteristically free and loosely structured, stylistically. They tend to focus the emotions that could be derived from the artworks rather than clear representational imitation of reality. In this artwork, ‘Red, Brown and Black’ (1958) by Mark Rothko, all consist of soft, rectangular bands of color stretching horizontally across his canvas. The artist views color as the most powerful communication tool. Through his blocks of color, which are representative of the simple components in the artwork, are meant to provide a contemplative, meditative space in which to visually investigate one's own moods and affiliations with the chosen palette. ‘He sought to distill an essence, or true nature, out of codified hues’
Before you begin reading this paper, look through the appendix. Are you shocked? Disgusted? Intrigued? Viewers of such controversial artwork often experience a wide spectrum of reactions ranging from the petrified to the pleased. Questions may arise within the viewer regarding the artistic merit and legitimacy of this unorthodox artwork. However, art's primary purpose, according to Maya Angelou, “is to serve humanity. Art that does not increase our understanding of this particular journey or our ability to withstand this particular journey, which is life, is an exercise in futile indulgence” (Buchwalter 27). To expand on Angelou's analogy, because everyone experiences a different life journey, art is different to everyone. In other words, art is subjective to the viewer. The viewer creates his own definition of what is art and what is not art. Some may recognize the artistic value of a piece of artwork, while others may find it obscene. Some may praise the artwork, while others will protest it. Censorship is derived from these differing perspectives on artwork. Through censorship, communities seek to establish boundaries and criteria that limit an artist's ability to produce “proper” artwork. However, some artists choose to ignore these boundaries in order to expand the scope of art and, in their view, better serve humanity.
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
Leonardo DiVinci's figure drawings and anatomical sketches interest me. His exploration of ideas and exhausting research inspired my practice. As I have continued with my own exploration, I have expanded my research to include ideas from philosophy and science as well as art.
Before analysing selected art works in more detail it will be worth introducing a few different definitions and hypothesis of aesthetics in art based on theories of well-known critical thinkers.
Art provokes oneself to express a feeling that one has encountered in their lifetime and allows the artist to display their masterpiece for an observer to connect to. Artist Berthe Morisot once said, “It is important to express oneself… provided the feelings are real and are taken from your own experience”. With the usage of movements, hues, sounds, shapes, or methods articulated in words, an artist can communicate his or her beliefs by making emotional connections to their audience. Art allows individuals to express themselves in creative ways that can bring many individuals closer by having a connection. In Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, nearly everyone is conditioned in the modern world to show the impact of what art can influence
In the early 1700s, the monarchies failures at finance, national debt, involvement in multiple wars with
__Expressionism__ is an artistic style that distorts and exaggerates reality to cause a strong emotional response from the audience. It attempts to depict the subjective, rather than the objective reality, through the use of shapes, color, and contrast. Specifically, __German Expressionism is an innovative and influential movement that began as a response to World War II. German Expressionists included novelist, poets, playwrites, and filmmakers. German Expressionism, in its early years, was a response to the massive casualties of the war and developed into an anguished style which tended to explore death, the supernatural, and the darker sides of the human psyche.
Aristotle once claimed that, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Artists, such as Louise-Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun and Mary Cassatt, captured not only the way things physically appeared on the outside, but also the emotions that were transpiring on the inside. A part no always visible to the viewer. While both artists, Le Brun and Cassatt, worked within the perimeters of their artistic cultures --the 18th century in which female artists were excluded and the 19th century, in which women were artistically limited-- they were able to capture the loving relationship between mother and child, but in works such as Marie Antoinette and Her Children and Mother Nursing her Child 1898,
Critical thinking is a very important aspect to understanding art. As David Perkins put it in “The Intelligent Eye”, we must avoid “experimental thinking”, a rash, quick way of thinking based on observations and use “reflective intelligence”, a way of thinking in which a viewer takes their time and dissects details and nuances to fully understand a work of art. A majority of viewers will look at a piece of art and come to a quick analysis of it, without much thought. But, according to Perkins, “The more attentive the observation is, the better the opportunity is for deeper learning” (Perkins 14). As Banksy said in Exit Through the Gift Shop, “the reaction to the work of art is the most important thing about it.” Without a reaction or an opinion, the work of art has no meaning. Therefore, in order to trul...
The first painting analyzed was North Country Idyll by Arthur Bowen Davis. The focal point was the white naked woman. The white was used to bring her out and focus on the four actual colored males surrounding her. The woman appears to be blowing a kiss. There is use of stumato along with atmospheric perspective. There is excellent use of color for the setting. It is almost a life like painting. This painting has smooth brush strokes. The sailing ship is the focal point because of the bright blue with extravagant large sails. The painting is a dry textured flat paint. The painting is evenly balanced. When I look at this painting, it reminds me of settlers coming to a new world that is be founded by its beauty. It seems as if they swam from the ship.