Final Exam Question 10

"The Old Man with Guitar"

by Pablo Picasso 

Contemporary Art From Art 21

" Spirituality"

"Roden Crater," Southwest View - James Turrell

Turrell’s work involves explorations in light and space that speak to viewers without words, impacting the eye, body, and mind with the force of a spiritual awakening.  Situated near the Grand Canyon and Arizona’s Painted Desert is Roden Crater, an extinct volcano the artist has been transforming into a celestial observatory for the past thirty years.

 "Humor"

 

"A Cabin Boy to Barbary"- Walton Ford

Blending depictions of natural history with political commentary, Ford’s meticulous paintings satirize the history of colonialism and the continuing impact of slavery and other forms of political oppression on today’s social and environmental landscape.  Each of Ford’s animal portraits doubles as a complex, symbolic system, which the artist layers with clues, jokes, and erudite lessons in colonial literature and folktales.

"Power"

"Drawing for Transient Rainbow"-Cai Guo-Qiang

Accomplished in a variety of media, Cai began using gunpowder in his work to foster spontaneity and confront the controlled artistic tradition and social climate in China.  For his work, Cai draws on a wide variety of materials, symbols, narratives, and traditions—elements of feng shui, Chinese medicine and philosophy, images of dragons and tigers, roller coasters, computers, vending machines, and gunpowder.

"Protest "

"29 Palms: Mechanized Assault"- An-My Le

Her photographs and films examine the impact, consequences, and representation of war. Whether in color or black-and-white, her pictures frame a tension between the natural landscape and its violent transformation into battlefields.  Lê fled Vietnam with her family as a teenager in 1975, the final year of the war, eventually settling in the United States as a political refugee.

Cindy Sherman Portrait Story

My name is Lauren, and I come from a small town in Wyoming.  Ten years ago I was just a tall country girl who had never thought about becoming a CEO and living in New York.  My family runs a big ranch, we raise cows and grow grains then sell them to big companies.  I helped out with my family business when I was home.  However, my life changed dramatically after I joined the 'Super Model' competition.  I went to New York by myself, and with the support of my family and friends, I became stronger and more mature.  The competition was fun but also very challenging. One turn after another, I moved on to the final round with one other girl.  Because of my confidence, all the judges were impressed by my performances.  I finally won the big prize.  I got so many job opportunities after I won the competition. Now, after working in the fashion industry for eight years, I have my own brand and clothing collection which is sold throughout the world.  

Reflections on the AIC

The Art Institute of Chicago is a great place to spend your spare time.  The museum is cool and enjoyable.  I learned on their web site that the museum has more than 4,000 sculptures and 5,000 paintings in its collection.  I still remember the fist time I visited the AIC, I spent the whole afternoon there and couldn't finish viewing the entire collection.  I enjoyed the time there on Wednesday.  This time I revisited some paintings that I really liked from the last time I visited.  I also learned more about George Seurat's pointillist painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte.  The group discussion gave us a different perspective when looking at the paintings.  Also, each group's presentation was fun and brought out a different point of view about the art.

My VoiceThread

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My Voice Thread - the Snake Charmer

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Art Loop Open

Lotus Soul

I voted for this sculpture called Lotus Soul in Burham hotel on Wednesday.  This sculpture created by sculptor Chu-Alice Chan.  As the introduction says:"it brings the peace, love and hope into this world.  A 3-D images inside large piece. The front view is an image of a lovely lady face, and from the back, the face reflects into a young man, an innovative high-end carving techniques of unique sculpture."  I really liked this artwork, its texture and exclusive design were the reasons I voted for.

Reflections on the MCA

Wednesday's trip to the Museum of Contemporary Art was wonderful.  Unlike going to the House of Blues or the Cultural Center, where we explored a lot of folk art, at the MCA's we experienced and learned more about modern art.  The exhibit we saw, called "Form, Balance, Joy," shows a lot of Alexander Calder's sculptures and other artworks made by seven artists - Martin Boyne, Nathan Carter, Abrol Cruzvillegas, Aaron Curry, Kristi Lippire, Jason Middlebrook and Jason Meadows.

I spent most of the time looking at Calder's sculptures: creative reuse, animal imagery, bronzes, stabiles, mobiles and spiders.  All the sculptures are made from wire, sheet metal, bits and discarded items such as broken glass and ceramics.  Some of the sculptures look like something that I can easily recognize, for example, the finny fish made from beads, the little face made from wire and some abstract animals made from metal.  However, with others I could only use my imagination.  I had a great time at Calder's exhibition.  The giant sculpture, Flamingo, displayed in downtown Chicago and designed by Alexander Calder, was one of my favorite public artworks and that was also the first time I heard his name.  This exhibition gave me an opportunity to learn more about him.

Since I spent most of the time on the first floor, I also liked the exhibition in the room next to the one displaying Alexander Calder's artwork.  There was one called "From the Forest to the Mill to the Store to the Home to the Streets and Back Again" designed by Jason Middlebrook, which hangs on the ceiling of the museum.  The reason I liked this one was because when I looked at the sculpture, the balance between the log and the wood really interested me.  Also, Jason Middlebrook's past projects always use storm-damaged wood materials.

Art midterm images

Question 11 
The Chicago Vietnam Memorial was designed as a place for contemplation and remembrance.  This is an example of artists creating a place for human purposes because people may go there to remember veterans of that and other wars, and to think about what war means and why we fight.



Question 22
Non-objective art is not representational, containing no recognizable figures or objects.  This is an abstract painting contains no recognizable figures.

The Agony and the Ecstasy

I watched “The Agony and the Ecstasy” last night, which is a movie about how Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.  The movie started by introducing Michelangelo’s great sculptures such as David, St. Peter, Madonna and Child, the tomb of Giuliano, Moses, the Deposition, and so on.

In the movie, under the patronage of Pope Julius II, Michelangelo was asked to paint the 13 apostles on the chapel’s ceiling.  Yet Michelangelo felt painting 13 apostles was just like doing any other biblical paintings—nothing exciting and creative.  However,
the pope was adamant and left Michelangelo no choice but do as he was told.  But the war between Rome and France diverted the attention of the Pope, therefore, Michelangelo escaped from the chapel and hid in the mountains while the Pope’s subordinates searched for him.  One day, Michelangelo woke up in a cave by the dawn’s early light, and he went out standing on the top of the mountain where he saw the beautiful sunrise and the unique shape of clouds which gave him the inspiration to paint the chapel ceiling.  Thus, Michelangelo returned to the city and showed his plans to the Pope. The Pope was satisfied and allowed Michelangelo to return.  Michelangelo’s idea about painting the ceiling had many different scenes from the Bible including God giving life to Adam, the last judgment, the downfall of Adam and Eve and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden and God dividing the waters.  The cardinals argued about the nudity in the painting during Michelangelo’s work, and they tried to stop and make him change his painting.  Michelangelo, however, insisted to only do the work that he liked and wouldn’t change anything.  The Pope also had a different perspective than the cardinals, so he let Michelangelo continue his work.  The whole ceiling process was much more difficult than it looked; as a result, Michelangelo struggled by himself during that time.  

Finally, Michelangelo took four years to paint 12,000 square feet of the chapel ceiling, which he did from1508 to 1512.  Today the ceiling, and especially the Last Judgment, is widely believed to be Michelangelo's crowning achievement in painting.

Although I knew about the Sistine Chapel before I watched the movie, I didn’t know much about the history of how Michelangelo painted the ceiling.  This movie was a great resource for getting a better understanding about Michelangelo.

Chicago Public Art

I went to the following six Chicago public art attractions on Friday, and it was a really nice sunny day.  I enjoyed walking around in the loop exploring the public art.  It was a great experience.  Some of it I've already seen, and some of it I saw for the first time.

 This is Crown Fountain by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa.  The fountain consists of two-foot glass block towers at each end of a reflection pool.  It's located in Millennium Park.

 

 

This is the Chicago Vietnam Memorial, design by Ross, Barney & Jankowski.  The memorial is constructed of black granite and lists nearly 3,000 Illinois veterans who were killed in the Vietnam War.

 

This is the Chicago Picasso, designed by Pablo Picasso.  The Picasso is one of the most famous works of public art in the Loop. The sculpture was built on August 15, 1967, is about 50 feet tall, weighing 162 tons and made of “Cor -Ten” steel.  The sculpture has been compared to a woman’s head and other creatures.

 

 

This is called Four Seasons by Russian artist Marc Chagall.  This mosaic sculpture is about 70 feet long and 14 feet high.  It shows six scenes about Chicago and it’s located in Exelon Plaza. 

 

This is the Flamingo created by American artist Alexander Calder.  The sculpture weighs 50 tons, is composed of steel and is vermilion in color.  Calder was commissioned to design the sculpture because of his well-established international reputation.  Calder gave the sculpture its color, which has come to be called "Calder red," to offset it from the black and steel surroundings of nearby office buildings.

 

 

Eye is a new art installation created by Chicago artist Tony Tasset. The sculpture is a gigantic three-story eyeball.

Shadow Hunting

I like this picture because the shadow of this tree is really interesting.  It was windy when I took the picture, so the leaves on the tree were shaky and blurry which make the picture more interesting and distinct from a shadow on a sunny and not windy day.

 

Reflections on the House of Blues

The field trip to the House of Blues was interesting. Unlike the Art Institute of Chicago, the House of Blues is a two-story music hall with unique Indian style design, and a large collection of folk art.  On Wednesday, our trip to the House of Blues was all about folk art.  What is folk art?  As the guide, Anna, explained: “folk art is mostly created by self-taught artists who don’t have much money but would like to create beautiful and interesting things.”  The folk art in the House of Blues is very informative, and I liked most of the art there.

I especially like the ones made of mud.

 

I also like the ones made of recycled items.

   

Chicago Architectural Boat Tour

Wednesday's architectural boat tour was really fun. 
Although this was my third time on the boat tour, I still enjoyed every minute.

I really like Chicago's architecture.  Some of it is interesting and remarkable.  I like the classical designs such as the Wrigley Building, Tribune Tower, 35 E. Wacker Dr. and the Chicago Lyric Opera House.



















I also like the relatively modern architecture like the former "Sears," now "Willis" Tower, Trump Tower, 333 Wacker Dr., and a lot of other office and residential buildings. 
It was a great trip! 

Maya Lin photo stories

The Three Pagodas

I went to this landmark called “Three Pagodas” on my trip to Dali, in China’s Yunnan Province, five years ago.  The Three Pagodas was one of my favorite sites from that trip.  I was impressed by the pagodas’ unique look although they were designed and built a thousand years ago, back in the Song dynasty.  The main pagoda has 16 stories and the smaller pagodas on the sides each have 10 stories.  If you look at them closely, you can see that the smaller pagodas do not stand completely straight.  They’ve both become a little slanted after so many years of harsh weather and natural disasters.  However, experts have confirmed that they are still very strong and stable.

Chicago Cultural Center

I really enjoyed the time in the Cultural Center on Wednesday.  Although I’ve been there several times, every time has been a great experience.  I like the design of the ceiling in the Cultural Center, and I remember I always enjoyed walking around there.  Wednesday’s Howard Finster's exhibit was fun.  I liked observing his artwork without thinking too much about the religious background.  It was a great art appreciation trip!   

Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

This painting is called Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat, a French post-impressionist painter.  I really liked this painting the first time I saw it in the Art Institute of Chicago last year.   It was also the first time that I learned this painting style, known as “pointillism,” was invented by Georges Seurat.  All the figures and landscape in his painting were made using little dots of color, small enough for the eye to blend with surrounding dots.  It looks fantastic.  What I really like is that in the painting, all the colors are so bright and soft.  It also makes me think that our lives are made up of little dots of color - each piece represents different things and finally they all come together.  As I remember, the original size of this painting hanging in the Art Institute is about 2 meters long and 3 meters in width.  Above is a copy of the painting, I hope you like it.