November 22 Lecture

Today in class we did a lot of talking about beauty. We got in groups and talked about what our definition of beauty was. Is it physical? Does it apply only to the senses? Or is it deeper than that? The teacher also told us not to say that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. I find that to be somewhat true i feel like it's also a double entendre. Sure we each have a different opinion of beauty. What  is beautiful to me may not be beautiful to you. However, that saying can also mean that beauty can be deceiving. Beauty LIES in the eye of the beholder. It could actually mean that beauty lies to your face! with the way the world is nowadays you can look at a girl and see that she is gorgeous. But as soon as you take off all that makeup you might not think that anymore. In a way her beauty lies to you. Our group came up with the definition that beauty is that which brings an emotional response. I feel that can be true but at the same time not. Maybe beauty is that which brings about a positive emotional response. Whatever. I truly feel that beauty is that which a person appreciates. A painter appreciates his painting. A Locksmith might appreciate a lock made by another locksmith. Or a collector a good sword. A serial killer might appreciate his kill. Not all may be good but if one appreciates it then it's beautiful in their eyes. I guess to me... beauty is that which you appreciate. sure it differs between person to person but hey... that's my opinion and i'm sticking to it. I also did a presentation today which i felt was super crappy. i forgot a lot of what i was gonna say and i'm just not happy with it. Frank Lloyd Wright if your ghost is stalking me right now and you saw that presentation... i'm sorry. I wish i could've done you more justice. anyway. OVER AND OUT!

Art of east asia set 2

the first piece i want to talk about is Li Cheng's Solitary Temple and Clearing Peaks. What i love about this painting is the setting. I've always been a fan of big mountains and waterfalls etc. It just gives a certain vast feeling. The subject is far away yet it's still so big. I'm sure if i took a walk closer i'd be an ant compared to the subject. The temple just looks so peaceful and the mountains seem to reach high and as if they'd never end. Perhaps the environment is a symbol of the people who live in the temple. The waterfalls are very serene and peaceful and the mountain that can't be moved. Perhaps the people that live there are kind and peaceful but hold firm to whatever beliefs they may hold as well as their daily way of living. I love the detail and the distance. The artist wanted to capture the entire seen including the mountains and surrounding land and not just the temple. The entire landscape was just as important as the temple. It makes you feel like the artist is very respectful of nature and feels that perhaps nature is just as important as ones home or that nature is a part of our home

The second piece i wanted to talk about is The Rongxi Studio by Ni Zan. This piece is very interesting. on the side before the wide you can see a little canopy looking area. There's an island on the other side of the water but i don't know what is on the island. The Rongxi Studio could either be the island or the canopy. I don't know exactly what it is. I do like the writing on the top. the characters look very beautifully written and without mistake as well. It is true art of someone with excellent penmanship. The trees look as if their withered and dying and as if the leaves are gonna float off any second. I like the technique and style. I just like the way the brush was moved across the canvas. It reminds me of my dad's old sketches. But in all honesty i really don't know what to make of this painting. For some reason, i look  at the top half and i love it. but as soon as i look at the bottom half i lose that feeling. i like the style and the way it was painted sure... but i can't say that i like this painting overall.

art of east asia set 1

the first piece i would like to talk about is the Descent of Amida and the twenty five Bosatsu. This piece feels very magical. It gives off a feeling that the gods do exist. Down in the bottom right hand corner it looks like a guy in his home possibly worshipping. The angle of the photo is pretty cool it reminds me of the camera angle where you have sort of an overhead view and the subjects are racing across the screen. The figures on the right all seem like people which look very small. The gods are descending on what look like clouds. However, the clouds are painted in a way that isn't puffy. As a matter of fact, the clouds are painted more in a way that look like roads. Roads are things made by men so in a way it's like a road of clouds that were made by these gods. Also, i like the way the head of the larger god has ray like lines coming from around the head. It's as if that god is the sun and as we all know, the sun is the center of the universe so it could be symbolic of him being the central god. Overall, i just love the angle of the shot and how it's painted.

The next piece i wanted to talk about is Monkeys Worshiping a Frog.  I find this painting very interesting. I kind of don't know what to make of it. However, i do know that asians tend to hold frogs as a sort of idol. There are some frogs that are sculpted out of jade depicted with money on it's back and holding a gold coin in it's mouth. Perhaps the frog is a symbol of wealth and prosperity. If that were the case then these painting sort of seems a little greedy. In the photo there are rabbits writing, a fox wearing clothes, a monkey worshiping, a monkey that seems ashamed, and a fox. It's as if the frog is the best of all the animals. Maybe the painter was a greedy man who thought money came before all. I like the way the strokes of the brush look. It's this style that has always drawn me to asian art. However, i really don't know what to make of this picture. i guess i just find it funny that the frog is probably the weakest out of all these animals as well as the least intelligent; but it is the one that seems to be getting worshiped. i guess all i can say about this painting is that it's ironic. Monkey's are supposed to be one of the most intelligent animals but it's worshiping a frog. maybe that's why the other monkey looks ashamed. haha what a funny picture.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867- 1959)

-Born in Richland Center, Wisconsin on June 8, 1867
-Parent's divorced when he was a teenager and he changed his name from Frank Lincoln Wright to Frank Lloyd Wright out of love for his mothers side of the family.
-Frank Lloyd Wright was considered, by many, to be the greatest American architect of his time.
-He was considered by more to be the greatest designer of residential architecture.
-He went to high school in Wisconsin but did not graduate.
-Did one year's course of in civil engineering at the University of Wisconsin.
-Moved to Chicago in 1887 and found a job in an architectural firm working for Joseph Lyman Silsbee
-A year later got a new job working for Louis Sullivan for 5 years
-Wright opened his own architectural firm in 1893

The Lloyd-Jones Family Chapel. Also known as Unity Chapel

-Frank Lloyd Wrights first building!


-Frank Lloyd Wrights home.
-Took a $5,000 loan from Sullivan to build this house in exchange for 5 years of work
-Later moved his work here to be closer to his family.

"bootlegged houses"
-Do to his and his kids' expensive taste in wardrobe and vehicles and other luxuries, Wright struggled financially.
-Developed 9 houses which he called "bootlegged houses" to help make up some money.
-These houses were variations of the Queen Anne and Colonial Revival Styles or architecture which were popular at the time.
-he emphasized simple geometric massing and added features like cantilevers, bands of horizontal windows and open floor plans which later became a hallmark of his work.


Walter Gale House


Thomas Gale House


Blossom House

"Prairie Style Houses"
-Wright later brought a transition into "prairie style houses" which complemented the land surrounding Chicago
-consists of extended low buildings, low shallow sloped roofs, clear sky lines, suppressed chimneys, overhangs and terraces which were all made from unfinished materials.
-Open Floor Plan
-Long Low Windows brings connection with interior and nature.
-manipulation of interior



The Robie House
-had an influence on European Architects after World War I
-Sometimes referred to as the "cornerstone of modernism"



Coonley House

"Organic Style Houses"
-built to blend in with surroundings
-uses material from the immediate surroundings whenever possible
-interior coexists with exterior
-designs everything from exterior to interior including furniture.
-Treats entire building as a single being.



Falling Water
-Horizontal cantilevers and and structures were made of concrete and the verticals were made of Limestone


Graycliff


Taliesin West

"Usonian Houses"
-A Suburban City he came up with.
-Each U.S family would be given 1 acre
-Wright would build them a house
-basically a community built by Wright


Malcom Willey House


Jacobs I House

"Other Works"

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum


Price Tower
-One of the only 2 existing vertical structures built by Wright


Imperial Hotel in Tokyo
-designed to withstand an earthquake
-Survived the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. The magnitude was 8.3!
-It did suffer some damage and the design didn't quite work how he intended it to
-had to be demolished decades later.
-tried to make it float on the mud but making it shallow with broad footing.
-The plan backfired and the foundation proved inadequate.
-The mud actually amplifies seismic waves.

Lego Frank Lloyd Wright!

Lecture 11/15/2011

Today in lecture, all that i can remember we did was good over some of the projects that we could do for P4 and P3. There is a selection of 10 different museums we could visit for 35 points each, 5 different art projects for 55 points each, or 1 counterfactual identity for 100 points. I am still a little iffy on how to make the counterfactual identity but i feel like i'm at least going to try. We talked about making the cast sculpture at the beach and we even watched a video on how to do it. I'm definitely going to do that one. I'm also going to go to the legal art walls in venice and try to make a badass piece! I love visiting museums so i'm definitely going to do some of those as well. i don't know but these art projects all got me a little excited. The only sad part is that we only have till december 6th to do as much as we can. However, I'm going to do as many as i can. We also had a few presentations. The one i remember the most was ryuji ikeda. I think that's what his name was but he did a lot of exploring sound. I do feel the presentation was a little long but i guess thats okay as well. It was very interesting and the light displays he puts together looks amazing. I was on the jury for this week and the teacher said that we gave out the highest scores... Well i just hope whoever is the jury for this week does the same for me :P

Nkondi figure and Gwandusu mother-and-child display figure

Nkondi figure is probably one of the coolers African art works that i like. It involves the belief of putting together materials that allows ritual specialists to summon the powers of the dead and use them to serve the living. Freaking badass! The nkondi figure is actual a figure of a hunter. It's used to summon the powers of a dead hunter warrior to hunt down and punish witches and wrongdoers. Just by looking at the Sculpture you can tell that it is a warrior. If anything it looks like a ferocious demon. you cant really see the arms or legs. It's almost as if the arms and legs are wrapped together and sealed so as to keep the dead hunters powers under control. It seems like if we let the hunters legs and arms free, it would unleash its wrath and those who summoned him for possibly ruining the balance of nature or something. The sculpture is pretty fierce and it actually looks scary. It could be a symbol of fear to all wrongdoers and a symbol of salvation to all victims.

The next piece i wanted to talk about is the Gwandasu display figure. In the display we have a large scupture of a woman and she is holding a small baby on her stomach as the baby clings on to the mother. The book says that this sculpture is made to help women who have trouble conceiving, bearing, or rearing children. The baby is carved into the form of the mother to possibly symbolize that the baby may have come from the mother. However, it could also be possible that it is carved into the form to show maybe what is inside the mother. The breasts are made big to show great promise of producing nourishing milk. Furthermore, the book describes the cap that is on the mothers head. It says that the caps are only worn by powerful male hunters or sorcerers. Maybe the cap could be used to symbolize the woman's ability to draw in energy needed to make a baby. Or to draw in a seed. If anything the cap could  be a symbol to should that the woman is strong enough to have and take care of a baby.

Palace altar to king Ovornramwen and Display Piece. Yoruba

The first piece i liked was the palace altar to King Ovonramwen. It was tradition for each king, upon assuming office, to dedicate an altar to his father; the preceding king. I thought this piece was cool because it is pretty much a dedication to ones father. The ceremonial bells, i feel, depict tradition. Bells are used to symbolize a celebration and a passing. i feel the symmetry between the three bells on the left and the three on the right symbolize the passing of the king and to celebrate the rise of a new king as he dedicates an altar to his father. The brass sculptures of the heads capped with elephant tusks are symmetrical to the standing king in the middle. Two kings on the left and two on the right. It's as if it shows that as the king rules his ancestors will always be watching him two in front, two in back, two on the right, and two on the left. The tusks possibly symbolize power and strength because the elephants who bore those tusks were massive beasts and were very powerful. Also, the tusks could also be a symbol of heaven. Ask those kings have passed, they can be considered holy and as guardians. The artwork on each tusk is also very intricate and beautiful.

The next  piece i want to talk about is the display piece. Yoruba. This piece for the Yoruba king in the early 20th century. The base symbolizes the crown. and there is a figure of a royal wife with a crested hairstyle and a child on her back as the book says. This piece was well woven, the colors are very vivid. The hair on the royal wife's head is black and red and to me that comes off as a symbol of power. All of the faces seem to have a happy face on and so it doesn't quite seem like a sad piece. To me it seems as if the wife has a lot of children and that the big family is very happy. I feel like this piece of art is a symbol of prosperity and happiness. I love the way it was woven together and shaped. Very clean and very creative. Overall, it takes a lot of skill to put this together.

Lecture

Today in lecture we did 5 different presentation. Although i missed a few of them, i do remember some. I remember the presentation on monet. The presenter talked about monet's love of painting where the land meets the ocean. It was a period of transition to where the paintings became less realistic and impressionistic. Personally, i like monet's style more than the artists that painting super realistic. Monet's paintings remind me of van Gogh's paintings but a little more realistic. I also remember a presentation with the video in it. I really didn't know what was going on in the video but there were clay people in an art museum and one kid was listening to music. Next thing i know, the art was coming to life and everyone started dancing together. I thought it was funny but at the same time it was pretty awesome. Another thing i remember from the presentation is the sky raining people. Well i couldn't exactly say that they were raining but it was full of people standing in the sky. The presenter also showed that the art was used in advertisement like for the korean phone. There was also a picture of a giant rose in the middle of the room. i can't exactly remember what the title was but there were at least 3 different answers as to what the painting meant. Very different answers yet they were all really good answers that made sense. I always found it amazing that ever since glen pointed out that artists just ask the questions, i began to notice it more. This painting was a perfect example. It just posed a question and we got 3 different answers. These presentations really reminded me of one of the reasons that i love art.

cliff palace and pendant depicting a ruler

So the anasazi built this place now called the cliff palace. It's such an amazing this to accomplish. Building a place like that on a cliffside could not have been easy at all. What i love about it the most is that it's protected from the top and bottom and was difficult for invaders to come. They did this so they could live in peace. To go so far for peace, the anasazi really worked for it. the book talks about the place being apartment style and that there are rooms for storage and religous practices. What shocks me the most is that it was thought of as being built by one architect. However, it is believed to have been built by more than one. But still, for a team of people to build something so well that and in harmony that it was thought to be made by one person, they had to have some major connection or chemistry with each other. In a way, a  team that close can be called one big architect :P

The next thing i wanna talk about is the pendant depicting a ruler. This pendant was made by a culture called the tairona. Gold smithing was first developed further south to where the Tairona lived but it made its way upward. The pendant is of a shaman. Shaman are usually rulers of the tribe or at least highly important and spiritual. The book says that the birds spreading out from the head is like a spiritual alter ego which allows the shaman to enter the other world. I also think that it could be a symbol of the conscience of the leader. The good or bad voices talking to him if you will. The leader looks powerful and as if he fears none. Rather, it looks like he strikes fear in the hearts of those opposed to him. Another thing i love about this sculpture is that the technique used to create it was very ingenius. The process of mixing in copper with the gold to lower the melting point was just very clever. It makes the gold easier to melt. It's like chemistry was studied there. They then used acids to clean off the copper and make it look as if it's just gold. This technique is very clever because it made a more efficient way of melting the gold and it still gave the final product a look of gold.

Pyramid of the Sun and Stirrup Vessel

The pyramid of the sun was given it's name by the Aztecs who, at the time, were the strongest culture in the region at the time. The Aztecs believed this structure to be sacred; that this was the place where the gods made the universe. What i love about this structure is that it's so massive! Its 210 feet tall. It is a little sad that the temple that used to be at the summit is no longer there, but the structure is just beautiful. From what i can see in the picture, this massive building is still standing strong. There's aren't too many signs of the structure wearing down. This building is thousands of years old and its still going strong. It certainly lives up to being like a mountain. God built the mountains. Humans built the pyramids. It just goes to show how creative humans were even way back then. I like that there's a natural cave within the pyramid and how the cave contains a spring. Whenever i'd play video games as a kid, the things i always thought of as sacred or magical were hidden in caves and had springs; Like Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. All the great faries lived hidden in caves in a spring. I find it kind of cool to read that there's a hidden cave with a spring in this pyramid. I can't even imagine what it would look like. However, from what i can guess... it must be gorgeous.

Next is the stirrup vessel. The vessel is well sculpted. It's a figure of a warrior. In the moche culture, the warrior were often sculpted kneeling. I don't know what kneeling symbolized for them but for me it symbolized loyalty. It could be thought of as the warriors being loyal to their tribe. The warrior is carrying a shield and a war club. The shield, not very big but the club is huge. The eyes suggest to me like there's nothing that can surprise this warrior. The small shield suggests that maybe he's not so worried about having to defend and the bigger weapon suggests maybe a greater power. I guess it shows that the tribe could be considered so strong that they don't need to defend. I like the big ear pieces because i see people like that nowadays. They have the big ear pieces and it's cool to know that those were part of a culture thousands of years ago. The beaked nose, like the book says, could be a resemblance to the barn owl which was regarded as a warrior animal for it's nocturnal hunting abilities and accuracy. It would then make sense that the headress is crescent shaped because the owls hunt at night and the crescent shape possibly resembles the moon. The best part about this is... it even has a pooring spout. Despite all the intricate detail and professional sculpting, it's still a vessel that poors really well.

George Caleb Bingham and Vasili Kandisnky

Bingham's Fur Traders Descending the Missouri is a painting in which i'm not too too fond of. The scenery is beautiful but to many people at the time this area was unknown. In the painting both of the subjects are staring at the viewers. The father is looking with an intense face yet when you look a little closely it looks as if there's a sadness in his face as if he isn't quite content with his life. The son is gazing as if bored and unhappy. What i don't like about this painting is the overall feeling of sadness and a little ominous feeling as well. I get the feel, when i look at this painting, that it's like a battle has just ended but the war is still going on. I feel like something bad is going to happen. The bear cub that is chained looks like a cat to me. The expression is unknown but the color gives off a bad feeling. Like the book says, it gives off a small hint of fear of the unknown or fear of nature. However, to me i pity the animal. Although i don't really like cats, i feel like the animal is a symbol of being like a prisoner of war.

The next painting i wanted to talk about was Kandinsky's Black Lines No. 189.  in this painting the colors are used in a circular or round fashion; kind of like balloons. The black lines are used in lines or hatched across or sometimes scribbled in a circular motion. What i like about this picture is that i see colors that would symbolize different times of day or different seasons. I love his work because it gives the viewers their own perspective. What i mean is that not everyone will get the same thing out of this piece of work. Some may think it symbolizes something while others will thing he is painting the sounds to a song or to music. Some may think it's his way of portraying the earth or some place on this earth. When i look at this painting i see sunset, night time, day time, snow, grass, water, horizons, love, mountains, and more. I see an entire world. This painting to me looks like the environment at different times of the year; in different places; and at different times of day. The feeling i get when i look at this painting is kind of a surreal feeling. It's like i'm dreaming of a particular kind of setting portrayed by these colors and shapes. The black symbolizes the objects there or terrain while the colors symbolize the time of day and year. I feel a rush of happiness when i see this painting but at the same time i feel like something can easily change at any time. It makes me believe that i really should live for now and enjoy the happy times while i can because they can abruptly change at any given moment.

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres and Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Ingres' painting Jupiter and Thetis interests me because i do have an interest in Greek Myth. First of all i like the way that Jupiter is at the very center of the painting. he looks so real that i couldn't find myself focusing as much on any other part of the picture. His face is so serious and powerful his arms so strong yet he also seems laid back and comfortable as if he won't help Achilles by intervening in the war (which is true. In greek myth, Achilles dies). There are lines above the head of Jupiter that help draw your attention to him. Also, the size of the subject easily makes him the focal point. The half naked woman Thetis is there begging for him to help out while Jupiter's wife spies jealously. Everything of this painting focuses around jupiter which i find to be pretty cool. The different feeling conveyed by each subjects plays around jupiter as well. Thetis is concerned for her son and therefore conveys her emotions to jupiter. Juno spies as Thetis is speaking to jupiter. Her jealousy is formed around jupiter because she is jealous that he has another woman in his midst. I also found the random eagle or falcon in the picture rather random yet meaningful. That bird has always been a symbol of power, as i recall, and that bird is there to kind of symbolize that Jupiter is the ruler of the gods and that he has all the power. I find it cool that jupiter is just there chillin on the clouds while ignoring everyone in his vicinity. It's almost as if he is so important that he can't get away. the attention is constantly on him and it happens so often that he doesn't even pay it any attention. Such a high authority and it doesn't even phase him. The colors are beautifully displayed the darkness in contrast to the light. The light shines mostly on Jupiter to put him in the spotlight. The shades symbolize the treachery of the war going on. This is just a really powerful painting in my opinion.


Renoir's painting Le Moulin de la Galette is another awesome painting. In the painting there's a party going on and as you look throughout the painting it appears that nobody is looking back at you except for a single couple on the dance floor. The thought that came to my head was that amidst all the noise and commotion there is a couple who seem to only care about each other. I find that really romantic. Everyone seems to be having a great time. This painting just gives an overall ambiance of happiness and peace. I find that the way the painting was painted plays a big roll as well. The painting is painted in a way where it is realistic (you can tell that they are real people, they have realistic qualities, their bodies are proportionate) yet it is painted as if this scene were a dream. It's almost as if the artist were trying to say that times of peace and happiness are but a dream in our world. It's really up in the air and, as far as dreams go, they either come true or they don't. However, in that moment we truly feel happy and at peace. It could also mean that happiness and peace, like a dream, are not meant to last. We feel all the positive emotions in the moment and then before you know it the moment is over. I love this piece because i feel i understand what that happiness feels like all to well. The part where you know everything is great and then it ends. What i really want, however, is to be able to wake up everyday for the rest of my life and know that happiness and peace are there.

Lecture Response November 1st

Today in lecture we didn't really do much. we had a potluck and watched terminal five. The movie is about an art show that was held in JFK airport. The curator was very young and the project was kind of a big thing. It kinda seemed like it would be tough for someone her age to be able to handle. Anyway, the show was only open for one night and then it was closed because there were damages to the airport and some idiots stole some stuff. The idea was a cool idea but something this big shouldn't have been done alone. I mean the show had a lot of potential, it was a great idea, many artists thought it would be cool. I kinda feel like the curator maybe kind of didn't do her part? i know it's a hard job and it may have been too difficult or too big a task for just her to accomplish but there were things that, i feel, could have been resolved but weren't. After the video we did presentations then class was over.

Visual literacy

Today in art we talked a lot about different kinds of literacy. we talked about text literacy, visual literacy, network literacy, and education literacy. Text literacy was things like stuff we read in books magazines etc... Visual literacy, if i can remember correctly, is stuff we see and draw a message from. I guess an example would be a stop light. We learn that green means go, yellow slow down, and red means stop. There are no words that tell us what these mean. When we see these colors we automatically know what it means. Or when someone puts their finger over their mouth you know they mean to be quiet. There are no words involved, rather we read the sign and no what it means. Network Literacy i believe he said it means like the internet and text and phone etc... We also talked about education literacy. This is all about literacy done for school as well as things teachers teach. I don't completely remember all of the lecture too well but i do remember that we watched a video on visual literacy. It talked a lot about the things we see on tv and how the media affects the way we see things. We also watched clips from the movie called the reader. In the end, the girl would rather admit to writing a letter and committing the crime than for everyone to find out that she couldn't read. Overall, we talked about all the different kinds of literacy and how education literacy maybe disappearing due to all the other kinds of literacy. I don't believe education literacy will ever disappear. I just can't imagine being taught by a computer can be more effective than being taught by a teacher. As far as i'm concerned, education literacy will be around till the end of my life at least.

Don Eddy and Louise Bourgeois

The first painting i want to talk about is a painting done by Don Eddy titled New Shoes for H. One of the things i love about this painting is the vibrant colors. I'm pretty sure i see all the colors of the rainbow in this on picture. However, that's not even the coolest part. The part i like the most about this picture is that it's creative and is based around a very specific subject which is what you see when you look through a glass window. The author based it around the glass window being translucent and reflective at the same time. He painting everything you see through the glass and reflected off the glass at the same time. He made everything sharp and in color. The way the image came out is just trippy. He also colored the painting so that you can tell the difference between an image seen through the glass and the image seen reflected off the glass. The colors of the things reflected off the glass are colors used in a way that makes it seem like you're seeing an entirely different universe. Kind of like a parallel dimension that you can see with your eyes. If you look to the left, however, you can see that the colors are used normally and everything looks the way it would in a normal world. What i love most about this painting is that it makes me think that there could be a possibility of an alternate universe. Overall, this painting is amazing.

The next artist i want to talk about is Louise Bourgeois and his piece Untitled. I actually don't know what to make of this piece. I don't even know if i would call this art. To me this piece just looks like artist hung some of his clothes on a rack and took a picture of it and called it art. The book mentions a little about it depicting aging. However, i could not see what the book was talking about when i looked at the picture. I don't know if it's my failure as the viewer to see what the artist was trying to capture, or if it is the fault of the artist in conveying his message. either way this piece has failed to elicit some, if any, emotional stimulus from me and that is what i look for most in art. A piece that will make me think or see or feel something. I like pieces that make me think about life or a message. Most art that i like makes me think about life or a hidden message something that symbolizes something. I like art that makes me feel at piece or excited. However, i get nothing from this piece. I feel nothing i don't really see anything extraordinary. The only question that  pops into my head is what was the point of this. I don't even have the care to look further into why the artist did this. To me, this piece has no significance. I don't mean to be harsh when i say that. But overall, if i saw this piece, i would wonder what the artist was thinking or what the point was and wouldn't bother any further. I would immediately move on.

Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning

The first piece i want to talk about it Jackson Pollock's Number 1. This picture consists of different colored splatters and lines and blots layered over and over again on a large canvas. as much as i like abstract art, this piece of art is just alright to me. it's pretty cool. it may be cooler if i saw it in person but in the book, i'm not quite engulfed in the picture. However, the patterns are still cool. I like the way it looks. it kinda reminds of of some samurais fighting in a war and the different splats could be the swords clashing and the blood spilling. The thing i do like about this picture is that it's kind of like an action movie to me. i can see many battles mostly involving swords, spears, and axes. But the thing that gets me the most is that there's not a clear idea about anything behind it. The book defines it as nonrepresentational because it doesn't represent anything or is inconsistent with an idea. but what i do like is the term action painting. I can feel action and movement in the painting and although there isn't a general idea behind it, i still get a bit of a rush when i look at this painting. I think the think it's lacking is scale. However, that may be because i'm looking at it in the book. I'm sure if i saw it in person it would be an entirely different story

the next piece i want to talk about is Willem de kooning's Woman IV. this painting somewhat reminds me of the kind of paintings picasso does. it's abstract and the way they paint a person is the way that they see that person. the fact that the artist painted this woman so monstrously and horridly suggests that maybe he doesn't quite like this woman. He makes her fat and undefined. I'm not sure if it's all women that the artists doesn't like but for sure he probably doesn't like this one. Well that's how the painting makes me feel. This painting gives off a lot of tension when i look at it and it can sometimes make me want to throw up the painting just makes me feel so much negative emotion to this woman. I also thought it was clever for him to use a lot of yellow and red when painting this obese woman because those are the colors most associated with eating and hunger. However, this painting actually does the exact opposite to me... It acts makes me not want to eat. I also like how the painting portrays this person's image of this woman. it may not be exactly how the woman looks but it is appears to be how the woman looks on the inside and how a person is inside is what matters most to me.

Both artists are similar in the sense that they are both abstract painters. however, the major difference between the two is their style. One artists makes nonrepresentational art while the other artist clearly has an idea behind his paintings.