While folk art is unique to it's individual cultures we can't help but recognize running themes in subject, style, and feel. From these groups comes a remarkably rich and unique collection of music, food, holidays, arts and crafts, and literature. Naïve Art could simply be classified as folk art, but is distinctly the work of untrained, or rather, self taught artists, many of whom are capable of creating the most evocative and relatable scenes with tools as simple as matchsticks and mud.
Contributions from religion, climate, agriculture, politics, and nationality affect these artists, and there is an undeniable congruence in the rich (often naturally derived) color choices, distorted or fantastically unreal use of scale and perspective, and a seemingly optimistic or grandiose take on reality. I've chosen to compare the works of Naïve Artists from the Southern United States and the Balkans region of Southeastern Europe, to explore where their similarities and differences stem from, and to ask the question, what is it about their environment that impacts their art? My theory is that many of the similarities in style and content are due to these artists’ rural and impoverished existences as well as their Christian upbringings.
For centuries we've seen chaos and order ebb and flow amongst the ethnic groups of the Balkans. From the Adriatic to the West, and the Black sea to the East; Albanians, Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Croats, Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Romanians, Serbs, Slovenes, and Turks are widely spread across this mostly mountainous region. Higher elevations experience bitter cold and windy winters, and the majority those regions suffers from poor quality soil making tillage difficult. In the midst of the various mountain...
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...I maintain that creativity is accessible to everyone; self expression, inspiration, and artistic vision are in the mind of every individual.
Bibliography
Artist Information: http://www.rabuzingallery.com/ Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Folk Artist, Is Dead at 97, By MARGALIT FOX
Published: September 9, 2007
Susan Crawley, ed. THE LIFE AND ART OF JIMMY LEE SUDDUTH, 2005 pg 309-31 http://www.folkartlife.com/articles/clementinehunter.shtml#.UpI7QGTF3Uh http://www.gseart.com/Artists-Gallery/Fejes-Emerijk/Fejes-Emerijk-Biography.php http://www.gseart.com/Artists-Gallery/Basicevic-Ilija-Bosilj/Basicevic-Ilija-Bosilj-Biography.php American Folk Art (Google eBook) by Kristin G. Congdon, Kara Kelley Hallmark
Geographical, Historical, and Statistical Information http://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/experience/religion/history2.html http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010_5/168337.htm
Around the end of the 19th century, many modern artists in the west began stylizing their work based on the art and cultures of foreign countries. It was an era when modern artists like Paul Gauguin and Emil Nolde studied primitive cultures and created works that utilized styles and compositions not seen before in western art circles. Abigail Solomon-Godeau and Jill Lloyd focused their articles on how Paul Gauguin and Emil Nolde used their knowledge of the countries they researched, to create indigenous inspired paintings. The articles focused on how each artist used primitive paintings to express their impressions and experiences within the countries they explored. Relating primitive cultures to their western counterparts, Abigail Solomon-Godeau discusses how Gauguin uses his experiences, and created artworks to capture mythological speeches within his art.
In conclusion we can see that even worlds apart artists can still find inspiration from unlikely subject matter. Watteau’s from the theater. Picasso’s from the street. Both artists not only showed their era in their art but also themselves and others. Even when it comes to entertainment it seems that not artist can escape the idea of shaping their own worlds into their piece of art. As well, both also showed not only the similarities but also differences of their era and how art was viewed.
All students, and children especially, have tremendous talents, which are forgotten when their minds walk through the school door. Their forever developing talents and favorite interests are left for an uncreative school environment. I, for one, have always been taught and believed in an education, or following the guidelines of another, was essential in achieving wealth and success later in life. However, after listening to Robinson’s argumentative speech, I realize creativity and a valued education coincide with each other. To justify myself, creativity and thinking outside the box has led to many of the world’s advancements. Therefore, when teaching future leaders, and future generations of employees and employers, teaching creativity in a forever rapidly changing and unpredictable world would have benefits. At last, I believe that the educational system puts too much emphasis on a substantial, everyday American future over one’s happiness in a later life. Every human being is already born a unique artist, never made into one; constantly growing into a more talented
Throughout the course of history, art has changed in vast number of ways. Dating back to the Pre-Colombian era of art, you are able to find sculptors, mounds and other artwork on Native American culture. Native Americans believed in pantheism which is the worship of nature. Native Americans were seen as savages because they lived in nature, they worshipped nature, wore off clothing that didn’t cover their bodies fully. They performed ceremonies that have seemed peculiar to explorers during the exploration of the New World such Christopher Columbus. However, art has evolved in so many different ways imaginable. The use of colors, unique styles, reflections from lighting outdoors and the imagination of the artist can really put
The mountains had a few of different effects on the early people living in the Balkan Peninsula. The mountains of this area, helped certain ethnic groups, and hurt others. The mountain made certain divisions among the land and caused the region to be split up into small units where distinct ethnic groups have been able to sustain themselves. These small units are not much bigger than the British Isles or the state of Texas, and homes a little over a dozen of prominent ethnic groups. The mountains are also considered a physical obstacle, because they obstruct regional combination, whether it be political, economic, or cultural. And the last effect it had on these people is that of the land. The land near the bottom of these mountains is a lot better then that of the top of it, so the groups that have been beaten in battle usually would take refuge up at the top, or it would be a punishment.
The history of Art has continuously changed over time, and will continue to do so as long as humanity continues to evolve and time continues to go on. The author of Art History, Marilyn Stokstad, eases the reader into this mindset very early on. She explains that slight changes in the economy, climate, what is expected socially or cultural differences can shift the way Art is viewed and created forever. Early African Art and Gothic Art, both of which Stokstad clearly and concisely summarizes within two enthralling chapters, are both two unique genres, so different from one another that it seems nearly impossible to relate the two at a first glance. The way they structured architecture and artwork are vastly different, and are from incredibly different times yet somehow it is still incredibly to link the two together - whether it be through similar aspects of art or their subtle differences, these two styles are connected in more ways than one.
Folk art has had a tremendous impact on our culture as a whole. It’s gave people a livelihood , and added a vibrancy to our history. What started out as a means of practicality is now a full fledged art movement. Folk art is an example of what our planets people can do if they get the chance to be resourceful and creative. From the vivid blown glass of Mexico, to the Intricate headscarves of Russia, folk art has touched every corner of the planet, and made us more colorful as a people.
Gardner describes the creative individual as follows: “The creative individual is a person who regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions in a domain in a way that is initially considered novel but that ultimately becomes accepted in a particular cultural setting” (Gardner, 1993, p. 35). As I understand this, a creative individual is one who seeks out problems and states or solves them in a way that no one else has previously. Such inno...
In Sir Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk video, he had many major points that relate to the definition and importance of creativity. A major point how creativity is as important in education as literacy. According to Sir Ken Robinson, “we should treat it with the same status. He explains is that education is used to prepare use for the future, but the future is unpredictable.”.
The first artist that I would like to discuss is named Nehemiah Partridge and his painting during the 17th century. Nehemiah Partridge is a painter from the 17th century and he painted colonial art. The painting that I chose is named “Portrait of Catherine Ten Broeck”, and was created in 1719 on oil canvas. The painting is of a young girl holding a rose in her right hand while holding a bird in her left hand. The girl in the painting is very young, and she seems to be very happy being painted. The painting illustrates every-day life in the 1700s. The artist chose very earthy tones for the color scheme, but the light is focused on the young girl. The elements were very calm and peaceful in this painting. In addition, the background of this painting focuses on a young girl named Catherine who was painted by Nehemiah Partridge. The painting has descended by Edward L. Ford from the family’s great-great-great-granddaughter in New York City. This style of painting reflects “reflects Partridge's style of quick, prominent brush strokes with a palette of black, brown, blue, and rust. The sket...
My creativity also stems from my literacy. I can better understand and interpret different forms of art, such as; foreign movies, music and books. Living in a country with freedom of speech, and access to such art, has empowered me to live my life and form my own opinions and thoughts. From watching provocative documentaries to video art, the freedom to expand thought is
Herein lies the problem. The children that we are educated are and will be faced with new challenges that current education systems all over the world have been failing to meet. It would seem that structures of mass domain education suppress the innately imprinted creativity found in every living person and widely known specialist on the subject, Sir Ken Robinson, goes as far as saying that we are, “educating people out of their creativity” (Giang, 2013). But if the school system is to make adjustments to explore and cultivate creativity more how are they to do so without losing total structure? Robinson acknowledges this by saying that, “in every creative approach some of the things we’re looking for are hard, if not impossible to quantify. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t matter.”
Through these early stages of art discussed above, it shows how the foundation for today’s modern works was laid out. They show how art has developed from simple cave paintings, to the tremendous force in society that it is today.
Since I was very young, art has been a major part of my life. I lived for creating new things, whether it was on paper, made of clay, or created from wood. Due to my dedication, I have advanced in my art and bring many people entertainment. If creativity had not been implied, no one would have enjoyed the drawings or paintings I had made. Especially in todays world where billions of people are corrupted by the internet and find no time to be...
All throughout time people have used their imaginative minds to express some form of art, whether it be painting, drawing, sculpture, and dance, theatre, music or technology, this has happened all around the world. Furthermore, I think that the youth of the world have the biggest imagination because everything to them is new and they can’t help but imagine “what if” or “how”. Therefor that’s the power of imagination, and preferably for me I use it for art. Art to me is almost like an escape from everything negative in my life. Many say that art is beauty, and we say beauty ...