End of the Quarter

This quarter I was mostly interested in Surrealism and Pop art.  There are many other movements this quarter that are visually striking; these two stand out the most. I think it is interesting how surrealist artists, particularly Dali, move away from order and welcomes images that are irrational and dream like.  I enjoy how pop artists like Warhol use bright colors that draw viewer’s attention. I feel that I am more drawn to visual detail of a piece of art rather than their historical contexts. I say this because art is all around us, and we see it all the time. In some cases the viewer may learn the history surrounding a piece but usually people don't know the history. Though the history can be interesting, and can be a huge part of why an art work is considered avant-garde.

            Surrealism opposes rational thought and takes interest in the subconscious mind. Salvador Dali is a well known surrealist artist; his artwork resembles something one would see in a dream. This kind of art is very striking because one does not usually see items represented in such a naturalistic way doing such odd things, for example the melting clocks in The Persistence of Memory. Dali’s paintings convey an interest in illusionism. The Persistence of Memory depicts a rather normal landscape. In the background there is a beach with a rock formation on the right, there is even a reflection of the sky in the water. Then as the viewer moves forward to the foreground of the painting, there are a few melting clocks. One of the clocks is melting over a branch which is on a wooden block with another melted clock. Also on the wooden block there is the back of a clock depicted with ants crawling all over. Then in the center there is part of a face with another melted clock, which is said to be a self portrait of Dali himself. None of which makes any rational sense, yet make perfect sense in a dream. Salvador Dali’s art is considered avant-garde because his use of radical techniques. Dali’s techniques are seen as radical because he is very representational, meaning his objects are easily recognized, like the clocks. Then he takes the ideas surrounding the subconscious developed by Sigmund Freud, a famous psychologist. Overall, Dali was noticed for his unusual interpretations of every day objects.

            Pop art was a way for artists to comment on popular culture during their time. Andy Warhol is a pop artist who utilized bright colors and commercial advertising to covey personal feelings. Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Diptych depicts the famous film star Marilyn Monroe. The image of Marilyn is repeated many times using silk screens, in a way references film. Warhol uses an image of Marilyn that conveys her film personality which made her famous. Andy Warhol is considered avant-garde because his art is politically radical. His work is political because he is referencing pop culture, how people like Marilyn are immortalized. Warhol references this through the use of a diptych which is used for churches to represent saints, “symbolically treating the famous actress as a saint.” Though his work can be considered radical through his use of techniques, he had a focus on art that could be easily reproduced in order to be a successful artist.

            Surrealism and Pop art are interesting movements. Surrealist artists were able to catch one’s attention through use of subconscious images, while pop arts used bright colors and popular culture. These movements are very visually intriguing, whether they are capturing melting clocks or famous actresses like Marilyn Monroe. 

Lichtenstein's Girl

            Roy Lichtenstein created many striking works of art, one of which was titled Girl created in 1963. This piece was created by using a lithograph on white paper. Lichtenstein used a style that is similar to comic strips and subject matter that reflected pop culture. Lichtenstein was an avant-garde artist who stepped out of the box.

Lichtenstein’s use of comic book style helps express his feelings toward early 20^th century culture. The Girl utilizes bright primary colors; shades of blue, red and yellow. Then he uses dark bold lines and Benday dots that together form rich tones, and an interesting texture. Even though Lichtenstein takes his inspiration from advertisements and comics created near the same time, he changes the image to focus on his message about pop culture, though his messages are not always obvious. The lithograph Girl seems to be emphasizing something that is not captured in the artwork itself. I say this because; she is pushed to the right of the piece creating an asymmetrical balance with the bright blue on the left. Her face is tilted to the side, with her bight blue eyes focused on something in the same direction. The girl’s hands even appear to be pointing off the page. The way that the girl’s mouth was depicted seems that maybe she was in the middle of a conversation, the piece almost seems to be lacking a speak bubble. Lichtenstein was said to have used a rotating easel in order to create art that was enthralling from all angles.

Roy Lichtenstein’s collection of art work is very different from abstract expressionism which was popular during the same time he was creating his art. Instead his work captures a different essence, Lichtenstein said his work is ''anti-contemplative, anti-nuance, anti-getting-away-from-the-tyranny-of-the-rectangle, anti-movement and anti-light, anti-mystery, anti-paint-quality, anti-Zen, and anti- all of those brilliant ideas of preceding movements which everyone understands so thoroughly.” In a way Lichtenstein is forcing viewers to stare in the eye of their pop culture, in the process of doing so his work could be considered avant-garde.

For an artist to be considered avant-garde they must be politically radical and/or technically radical. To be politically radical one must reference the current world and try to help move forward. I would say that Lichtenstein is politically radical because he used commercial advertisement in a way that showcases his thoughts and feelings about popular culture. He is even more political when he uses war imagery like his painting Torpedo…LOS!, which could be referencing use of nuclear weapons in warfare. Though his art does not suggest a particular way to fix or move forward with the current issues, it should still be considered politically radical and avant-garde. To be considered technically radical an artist must be able to create art that is different from work that is being made at the same time. I think that his work is extremely technically radical. He utilizes Benday dots that were at the time reserved for art in comics and in art created mechanically. Lichtenstein’s art mainly uses primary colors that create an overall artificial look which is very different from most work produce before his time. Lichtenstein was an avant-garde artist who was noticed for his bright interesting art that was focused on popular culture.

Resources:

http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/

http://www.theartstory.org/artist-lichtenstein-roy.htm

http://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/30/arts/roy-lichtenstein-pop-master-dies-at-73.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/arts/design/11roy.html?_r=1

Dada, Surrealism and Dali

During the 20^th century new art styles began emerging, Dada and Surrealism. Dada begins around the time of World War I, later Surrealism develops after the war. These new art styles challenge the definition of art and artist. Dada and Surrealism differ in form, content and the concept of art.

            Dada was a way for artists to respond to the fall of Bourgeois culture.

Artists were responding to ignorance and the destruction caused by WWI. This was the first time people were exposed to this extent of destruction, during WWI new weapons of mass destruction are introduced; machine guns, fighter planes, tanks and worse. Dada’s form was much different than any art that had ever been created thus far in history. Art was being created from “readymades,” massed produced objects that were either found or bought from a store. The content of Dada art is humorous, meaningless, and useless much like the name Dada, which was said to have been picked out randomly from a dictionary. Dada has a wide range of definitions, in a sense Dada means everything and nothing at all. Dada embraced the concept of art being nonsense; it was more about the thought behind the artwork. Artists were pushing the boundaries on what could be considered art. The art work embraced irrationality to be critical of Europe and rational thought.  Art is even left to chance. In some cases people question the artist-genius in relation with Dada, asking does it really take an art to create art from chance, and random found objects. I would argue yes, because there is still an interest in the thought behind the work.

            Soon after Dada was establish as an art style, surrealism developed. Surrealism was a way to move forward from bourgeois values and order. Artists used forms that were biomorphic, organic and sometimes even disturbing. Surrealism art also consist of real life objects in unreal situations. The content of this work has influences from Marxism, creating a social revolution. Surrealism is also influenced by Sigmund Freud, a physiologist, who was interested in society, sexuality, cultural values and the subconscious. The main concept for surrealism was the subconscious, artists were very interested in the dream like state; they would use automatism which was a way to release subconscious images. Artists were so focused on creating dream like images that some would use drugs to access their subconscious.

            Salvador Dali was a Surrealist artist; in 1934 he painted Metamorphosis of Narcissus. At first glance, this painting appears very dream like and it does not seem to make any coherent sense. In the foreground there is a rock sculpture that appears to a hand holding an egg that is hatching a flower. Then the left there is another sculpture that resembles the other rock sculpture, nearly a mirror image. It is coming out the water, the egg seems more seed like, and there is hair flowing from the crack. Between the sculptures in the background there is a group of nude women posing, this could be a reference to Sigmund Freud’s study of sexuality.  On the right side of the painting there is what could be a dog eating something. Above the dog, there is a figure standing on a pedestal. Even though the painting is confusing, nothing appears to go together in any way, there is still a lot of talent behind this piece. Without all of the strange imagery, the painting could be a landscape. Just the landscape of this painting is done very well; there is atmospheric perspective to help describe depth. Overall, Surrealist art is very interesting to look at, or even to think about because of all the possibilities of one’s subconscious.

            Dada and Surrealism are very interesting art styles from the 20th century. The art produced makes the viewer think a lot more about the art itself. These styles were a way to push through the past, to seek irrationality, humor and nonsense. 

Paul Gauguin Avant-garde?

            Since the beginning of avant-gardism, there have been many different definitions to qualify a work of art as being avant-garde. Saint-Simon thought that if the piece helps move society forward by capturing current issues it should be classified as Avant-garde. This new style encouraged artists to be radical with their techniques. While others like Greenburg thought that avant-garde art should just be aesthetic, through the use of new radical techniques. While others considered artists avant-garde if they challenged the ideals of the Academy; which was smooth brushstrokes, historical or mythological subject matter with an interest in perspective and illusionism.  Griselda Pollock, a feminist art historian, thought that a work of art must reference, deference and difference to be regarded as avant-garde. In 1889, Gauguin painted The Yellow Christ which may comply with Pollock’s idea of avant-gardism.

The first part of Pollock’s requirement for avant-garde art is reference. To reference an artist needs to show an awareness of current happenings in the art world. At the time of Gauguin’s painting male artists were far more revered, than female artists, and deemed superior. If one compares Gauguin’s Self-Portrait of 1889 to The Yellow Christ, one could make the connection that Gauguin incorporated his self-portrait in Christ. He is able to reference male superiority in connection with Christ’s religious authority. Gauguin further references the idea by emphasizing Christ who is nearly in the center of the piece, and takes up more of the canvas than the other figures. In my option, when I look at the painting I feel as though my eyes are almost trapped looking at Christ, because of the way that Gauguin cropped the cross at the top, and covered a section of the bottom with a figure. Even though the background landscape has the same yellow color as Christ, the juxtaposition of the cross also helps make him more prominent.

            The second part of Pollock’s ideal Avant-garde painting would utilize deference. To defer, an artist would need to give reverence to the latest radical developments which may refer to radical techniques. Gauguin’s painting of The Yellow Christ defers some Impressionistic styles. The painting is of an outdoor scene, this shows an interest in light and color which is typical of Impressionistic art. Gauguin also uses loose painterly brushstrokes and bright colors.

            The last and most important part to Pollock’s ideal to become truly Avant-garde is difference. An artist can establish difference by showing that they are moving forward on current issues. Gauguin’s painting of The Yellow Christ differentiates itself well from the aesthetics of Impressionistic art. Though he painting does defer some styles, he rejects most Impressionistic characteristics. His painting is of the outdoors yet does not show the urbanization of Paris. Impressionism utilizes extreme realism while Gauguin does not, he has dark outlines. Gauguin moves away from naturalism and realism to abstracted forms. There is evidence of primitivism through the use of nature without industrialization. The Yellow Christ depicts a simple way of living with women figures to represent fertility and life. Gauguin is able to move forward with aesthetics. I do not think that he moves forward on issue of male superiority. I feel as though he only refers to it and maybe even solidifies male superiority through the use of Christ, it could be that Gauguin does not want to change his superiority in the art world.

Griselda Pollock finds that if a work of art is able to reference, deference and difference it should be deemed Avant-garde. After analyzing whether or not Paul Gauguin’s painting The Yellow Christ should be considered Avant-garde, I find that Pollock would be satisfied by Gauguin painting because he was able to refer to an art world issue, defer Impressionistic styles, and then he differentiates himself with his own style.