In this comparison please include images such as
Leonardo
1. Himself
2. Mona Lisa
3. Last Supper
4. Vitruvian Man
5. Map of Imola, Italy
6. Anatomy from the Notebooks
7. Gran Cavallo
Michelangelo
1. Himself
2. Pieta
3. David
4. Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel
5. Dome of St Peter's
6. Moses
7. Sketches
Plus brief identifications.
15 pts.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Painters' basic undercoat: Gesso Italiano
"Gesso", also known "glue gesso" or "Italian gesso"[2] is a traditional mix of an animal glue binder, usually rabbit-skin glue, chalk, and white pigment, used to coat rigid surfaces such as wooden painting panels as an absorbent primer coat substrate for painting.
The colour of gesso was usually white or off-white, says Wikipedia.
Its absorbency makes it work with all painting media, including water-based media, different types of tempera, and oil paint. It is also used as a base on three-dimensional surfaces for the application of paint or gold leaf.[3]
Mixing and applying it is an art form in itself since it is usually applied in 10 or more extremely thin layers.
The colour of gesso was usually white or off-white, says Wikipedia.
Its absorbency makes it work with all painting media, including water-based media, different types of tempera, and oil paint. It is also used as a base on three-dimensional surfaces for the application of paint or gold leaf.[3]
Mixing and applying it is an art form in itself since it is usually applied in 10 or more extremely thin layers.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Semester exam guide, Dec, 2011
Guitars and Camels
1. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying the essential features of a guitar is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a ____ bard. a) Hittite b) Chinese c) Aryan d) Persian.
2. The Middle Eastern antecedent of the guitar is the __, an instrument brought to Spain by the conquering Moors, the Islamic peoples of North Africa. a) guitarra b) kithara c) lute d) goombah.
3. The prominent nation whose flag features a long-bladed sword with elaborate hilt and pommel. a) Syria b) India c) Saudi Arabia d) Israel.
4. The Stratocaster, one of pop music's most oft-played instruments, was developed in California by a) Les Paul b) Leo Fender c) Orville Gibson d) CF Martin.
5. In the cultural transference across the Silk Road - from Asia to Europe - we see jewels, fabrics and pottery traveling from China to a middle trading center, __ . a) Persia b) Japan c) Espana d) Italy.
6. Name the keyboard instrument in which the strings are plucked by metal fingers. a) Piano forte b) Cithara c) Harpsichord d) Zither.
7. Vienna (Wien) is a city of coffeehouses and astounding music in the nation of a) Germany b) Switzerland c) Deutschland d) Austria.
8. Early Christian music as chanted in monasteries and churches was named for a pope: a) St Benedict b) St Gregory c) St Ignatius of Loyola d) St John.
9. If the word liturgical indicates religious matters, the word for non-religious matters is a) secular b) terra cotta c) mnemonic d) pontifical.
10. "Every writer should have a built-in, shockproof crap detector." a) Shakespeare b) TS Eliot c) Chaucer d) Ernest Hemingway.
11. The musical instrument commonly associated with ancient Greece is the a) goblet drum b) harp, or lyre c) flute d) fiddle.
12. The Italian port cities of __ and __ were centers for European trade with China, Persia and India. a) Venice, Genoa b) Rome, Naples c) Milan, Bologna d) Florence, Cremona.
Caravaggio and brethren
1. Caravaggio painted in numerous locales, among them Roma and a small
island southeast of Italy: a) Sicily b) Malta c) Corsica d)
Sardinia.
2. Caravaggio was commissioned to paint primarily by (the) __ . a)
Catholic church b) Italian noblemen c) growing Italian middle class
d) Roman senators.
3. Caravaggio's style was notable for its dramatic use of light and
shadow, a technique known as __ (spelling counts).
4. The Normandy invasion undertaken by the Allies in WWII took place
alongside the English Channel in __ France. a) Southwest b)
Northwest c) Mediterranean d) Brittany.
5. Region of France favored by the majority of painters and sculptors:
a) Cote d'Azur b) Bordeaux c) Champagne d) Burgundy.
6. Shutter noise - if minor - due to the internal mirror which must
move for an exposure to take place: a) Rangefinder camera b) Single
lens reflex camera
c) Imax camera.
7. The expensive, prestigious and reliable German camera company
favored by Henri Cartier-Bresson: a) Nikon b) Canon c) Hasselblad
d) Leica.
8. This female from Jewish biblical literature decapitated the
Assyrian commander named Holofernes: a) Judith b) Leah c) Esther
d) Rachel.
9. While working for Leland Stanford in California Eadweard Muybridge
was a pioneer in photography that recorded movement . After their
falling out, Muybridge shot most of his movement studies for the
University of __ . a) California b) Texas c) Pennsylvania d)
Michigan.
10. Boggis, Bunce and Bean: a) Leland Stanford b) Eadweard Muybridge
c) Roald Dahl d) Caravaggio.
11. Escargots à la Bourguignonne: a) Bordeaux b) Burgundy c)
Normandy d) Cote d'Azur.
12. The Decisive Moment: a) Eadweard Muybridge b) Roald Dahl c) Caravaggio
d) Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Jazz quiz
1. First city of jazz: __ __.
2. Second city of Jazz (and of the US in general): __ .
3. Third city to which the fathers of jazz - such as Joe Oliver, Louis
Armstrong and Jellyroll Morton - relocated: __ __ .
4. Movement of impoverished black Americans from the farms of the Deep
South to urban centers of Upper Midwest and Northeast: a) diplomacy b)
dispora c) displacement d) dislocation .
5. Approximate date for the birth of jazz: a) 1800 b) 1850's c)
1900 d) 1920's.
6. Name given to the place in New Orleans where slaves gathered on
Sundays: a) river levees b) Ashanti circle c) Place Congo d) Vieux
Carre.
7. Louisiana term for people of mixed ethnic background, esp. a
mixture of French, Spanish, native American and Afro-Caribbean: __ .
8. Gens de couleur libre was a special ethnic category in NO. It
indicated a person who was African-American, yet not a slave. T / F
9. Another name for the historic French Quarter is Vieux Carre; it
means: a) Spanish Quarter b) Old Quarter c) French District d)
Slave Quarters .
10. A radical change in his instrument's shape was the signature of
bebop jazz artist Dizzy Gilespie. His instrumentwas the ____ .
11. Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald and other jazzers offered vocal
improvisation with random vocables and syllables or without words at
all. This is called __ singing.
12. World War I and the Immigration Act of 1924 halted the flow of
European immigrants to the emerging industrial centers of the
Northeast and Midwest, causing shortages of workers in the factories
and openings for immigrating African-Americans. T / F
13. Chronological order of the development of jazz: a) Dixieland,
big band-style swing, bebop, Latin jazz, free jazz b) big band-style
swing, Dixieland, bebop, Latin jazz, free jazz c) bebop, Dixieland,
big band-style swing, Latin jazz, free jazz
14. In jazz the skilled performer will interpret a tune in very
individual ways, never playing the same composition exactly the same
way twice. Thus while jazz may be difficult to define, ______ is
clearly one of its key elements.
a) swing b) improvisation c) syncopation d) concentration.
1. New Orleans
2. Chicago
3. NYC (Harlem is not a city; it is a neighborhood in NYC)
4. diaspora
5. 1900
6. Place Congo, or Congo Square
7. Creole
8. T
9. Old Quarter
10. trumpet
11.scat
12. T
13. Dixieland, swing, bebop, etc
14. improvisation
Jazz musicians with the highest status in this American art form -
1. Jellyroll Morton
2. Joe King Oliver
3. Louis Armstrong
4. Fletcher Henderson
5. Charlie Parker
6. Edward Duke Ellington
7. William Count Basie
8. Benny Goodman
9. Glenn Miller
10. Lionel Hampton
11. Charlie Christian
12. Charlie Bird Parker
13. Dizzy Gillespie
14. Thelonius Monk
15. Miles Davis
16. John Coltrane
17. Charles Mingus
18. Billie Holiday
19. Ella Fitzgerald
20. Nat King Cole
21. Herbie Hancock
22. Wynton Marsalis
23. George Gershwin, classical / jazz
24. Leonard Bernstein, classical / jazz
Another Jazz quiz:
1. He was a Manhattan music man who straddled jazz, pop and Classical music. Most famous for 'West Side Story." a) Leonard Bernstein b) George Gershwin c) Duke Ellington d) Dizzy Gillespie.
2. Bebop sounds from the man with the bent horn: a) Wynton Marsalis b) Louis Armstrong c) Duke Ellington d) Dizzy Gillespie.
3. Approximate date for the birth of jazz: a) 1800 b) 1850's c) 1900 d) 1920's.
4. Name given to the place in New Orleans where slaves danced and sang on Sundays: a) the levee b) Basin St c) Vieux Carre d) Place Congo.
5. Louisiana term for people of mixed ethnic background, esp. a mixture of French, Spanish, native American and Afro-Caribbean: __ .
6. Gens de couleur libre was a special ethnic category in NO. It indicated a person who was African-American, yet not a slave. T / F
7. The primary destination of the Great Migration of Black Americans in the early part of the 20th century: a) upper Midwest b) West coast c) Harlem d) East Coast.
8. At the turn of the century both New Orleans and Shreveport established legal red light districts. Shreveport's was called St Paul's Bottoms. New Orleans was called a) French Quarter b) Vieux Carre' c) Canal St d) Storyville.
9. Referring to the a dynasty of Kings in France: a) Royal St b) Bourbon St c) Rampart St d) Decatur St.
10. Had a well-documented predilection for cannabis sativa: a) John Coltrane b) Miles Davis c) Dizzy Gillespie d) Louis Armstrong.
11. Was a vivid and profuse writer of letters and of an autobiography: a) John Coltrane b) Miles Davis c) Dizzy Gillespie d) Louis Armstrong.
12. Yiddish-based term for art-like work that is non-original, commercial and intended for a mass audience: a) schlock b) kitsch c) kvetch d) chutzpah.
13. Azucar was the Arabic word for a substance that drove the Atlantic slave trade: a) rum b) African peoples c) sugar d) tobacco.
Howl
by Allen Ginsberg
For Carl Solomon
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving
hysterical naked,
dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry
fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the
starry dynamo in the machinery of night,
who poverty and tatters and hollow-eyed and high sat up smoking in the
supernatural darkness of cold-water flats floating across the tops of
cities contemplating jazz,
who bared their brains to Heaven under the El and saw Mohammedan angels
staggering on tenement roofs illuminated,
who passed through universities with radiant cool eyes hallucinating Arkan-
sas and Blake-light tragedy among the scholars of war,
who were expelled from the academies for crazy & publishing obscene odes
on the windows of the skull,
the importance of Kerouac and On The Road
Magnet fine arts: Kerouac
Originally uploaded by trudeau
On the Road is a highly-recommended book for the college-bound student
or the adventure-minded person.
- Lower middle class life in the post-war, post-depression era prior
to widespread prosperity.
- A writer and his charismatic buddy criss-cross the US by bus,
hitch-hiking, train and careening, high-speed driving.
- Find an atlas and keep it by your side as you read so that you can
learn the towns and cities of the US.
- Men obsessed with drinking, sex, drugs and boyish freedom
nonetheless bond with each other over philosophical inquiry.
- How men slowly and painfully mature.
- Strong parallels with Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby.
- A celebration of jazz and of brotherhood.
- Published in 1957 the tale catalyzed the alienated and restless
youths already disillusioned by the material prosperity delivered by
success in the American Dream.
1.Kerouac 2.Ginsberg 3.Lear 4.Burroughs 5.Albee 6.Albee 7.Kerouac
8.Carroll 9.Carroll
10.Dylan 11.Albee 12.Kerouac 13.Beatles 14.Kerouac 15.Kerouac
16.Kerouac 17.San Francisco.
Mozart quiz from the award-winning movie Amadeus -
1. Mozart has six children and one wife. Her name: a) Nanerl b) Marie
Antoinette c) Constanza d) Maria Magdalena.
2. Court composer Antonio Salieri makes a dramatic vow to God. Which
virtue does he withhold in the vow? a) charity b) chastity c)
humility. '
3. The Mozarts have a never-ending domestic issue. It is a) infidelity
b) inheritance c) money d) parties.
4. A notable work by Mozart is the __ known as Don Giovanni. a) opera
b) symphony c) chamber work d) piano concerto.
5. As a child Mozart performs for the Pope in Rome. Mozart is a __ .
a) prophecy b) profligate c) philanthropist d) prodigy.
6. Much of Mozart's early career is spent in __, Austria. A very
musical city, it is not the capital. a) Vienna b) Salzburg
c) Brandenburg d) Munich.
7. In a gentile European party in the late 1700's it is distinctly
improper for a lady to allow a view of her a) breasts b) legs c)
tongue.
10. Mozart composed his first symphony at the age of __ . a) 3 b) 7
c) 16 d) 21.
12. The Emperor of Austria has numerous musical advisors from the
nation that is home to the opera and to the violin: a) Germany b)
France c) England d) Italy.
13. Mozart's wife is so stressed by domestic issues that she leaves
home to have a stay in a __ . a) castle b) palace
c) spa d) hospital.
14. Mozart had a puerile and __ sense of humor. a) scatalogical b)
sarcastic c) satirical d) scrotile.
15. Who is Mozart's employer when the movie begins? a) the Pope b)
Archbishop of Salzburg c) Louis XVI d) Henry VIII.
16. In the last part of his career, Mozart makes money independently
of his commissioned work for the Emperor. T / F
17. Emperor Joseph of Austria had a famous sister who was put to death
in 1792. She was a) Marie Antoinette b) Queen Anne
c) Victoria I d) Elizabeth I.
18. One of Mozart's operas is about a bird man named Papagaeno and the
Queen of the Night. It has been called a vaudeville work. a) Requiem
b) The Marriage of Figaro c) The Magic Flute d) Cosi fan Tutte
("Women are like that").
19. In 1787 a young German composer, __, spent several weeks in
Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart. a) Beethoven b) Salieri
c) Tchaikovsky d) Verdi.
20. Mozart died of ill health at age a) 25 b) 35 c) 45 d) 65.
1. chai: Asian term for __ . a) tea b) coffee c) ginger d) wine.
- ciao: Italian for hello or goodbye
2. An American journalist who became a major novelist advised writers
to cultivate a "A built-in, shock-proof crap detector."
a) Scott Fitzgerald b) Allen Ginsberg c) Alvin Ailey d) Ernest Hemingway.
3. Meaning "in the middle of earth" or "between lands:" a) Atlantic
b) Pacific c) Mediterranean d) Caribbean.
4. Austrian city notable for coffee shops for discussion of ideas and
art: a) Berlin b) Vienna c) Munich d) Milan.
5. Capital city of Germany. Bach's home was near this city: a) Berlin
b) Vienna c) Munich d) Milan.
1. Earliest roots of the guitar: a) Persia b) Arabia c) India.
2. The etymology of "guitar" reaches back to a) Persia b) Arabia c) India.
3. The oud, a 4-string lute, was a direct antecedent to the guitar; it was brought to Spain and to Western Europe by people of __ . a) Persia b) Arabia c) India.
4. The Fender Stratocaster was created in the early a) 1940's b) 1950's c) 1960's.
5. Leo Fender, one of the fathers of the electric guitar, lived in a) Los Angeles
b) NYC c) London d) Chicago.
6. Orville Gibson, founder of the company famous for the Les Paul electric guitar, lived in the 1890's and designed a) drums b) mandolins c) acoustic guitars
d) pianos.
7. In the 1930's and 1940's the classic jazz guitar was one made by a) Gibson
b) Fender.
The Leonardo Quiz, Da Vinci 1. Born in Vinci, near the major city of __ .
2. Another word for a person with superior intelligence whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas. A Renaissance Man or a _polymath__ .
3. Da Vinci: a geologist? y / n
4. Da Vinci: a dentist? y / n
5. Da Vinci: a student of law? y / n
6. A botanist? y / n
7. Leonardo was said to use empirical methods. Empirical studies are based on a) theory b) observation.
8. He was educated under the notable artist of Firenze, Andrea del __.
9. Da Vinci was a bastard, or illigitimate by birth. y / n
10. He died in: a) Italy b) France c) Germany.
11. Leonardo worked in Milan; he also worked in Naples, Sienna and in Sicily. y / n
12. This subject of this painting was described as enigmatic and monumental, if small in size. It is a) Vitruvian Man b) Mona Lisa c) Last Supper .
13. Painting purchased by the king of France, Francois 1; later owned by Louis XIV and displayed in the Palais de Versailles: _____ . a) Vitruvian Man b) Mona Lisa c) Last Supper .
14. In 1919, Marcel Duchamp, one of the most influential Dadaists, created a parody of the Leonardo painting ____ . a) Vitruvian Man b) Mona Lisa c) Last Supper .
15. In Rome he worked for Lorenzo de Medici. y / n
16. In Milan he worked for Ludovico Sforza, il Moro. y / n
17. Both Leonardo and Michelangelo designed domes for the largest churches in Italy. y / n
18. The statue was called the Gran Cavallo. In it he lionized the Sforza family in his presentation of an animal that stood 24 feet high. It was a __ .
19. The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist is a cartoon, or work preparatory to a painting. It was drawn on paper with black and white __ .
20. Leonardo worked as chief military engineer and architect for Cesare Borgia. His most significant work was to create a __ for Borgia.
Wheat fields and a starry night: Vincent Van Gogh
1. Van Gogh's home nation? __ . a) Netherlands b) France c) Deutschland d) Belgium .
2. Father's occupation and Vincent's first vocation? ___ a) Art dealer b) painter c) minister d) farmer.
3. City in which VG realizes that his task in life is to reach the people - esp the common and impoverished people of Europe? a) London b) Amsterdam c) Antwerp d) Paris
4. He returns to the continent to a city in Belgium where he is inspired by Japanese woodcuts and paintings by Rubens. ____, Belgium. a) London b) Amsterdam c) Antwerp d) Paris
5. The most important person in his life. Steady subsidizer and moral support were unconditionally granted. __ . a) wife b) mother c) sister d) brother.
6. His next stop is the city that is the capital of the art world in the nineteenth century. __ . a) London b) Amsterdam c) Antwerp d) Paris.
7. During his time in the big city he lives near his brother. There we see that an important part of his historic record, or documentation of his life, is missing. His __ are the record is his life. a) paintings b) letters c) tattoos d) invoices and bills. 8. There he paints his most famous still lives, some dozen versions of this subject. The object of these paintings? __ a) wheat fields b) starry nights c) flowers d) portraits.
9. In this city he meets one of the leading painters of the day, the enormously creative and virile Paul __ . a) Gaugin b) Cezanne c) Monet d) Degas.
10. VG believes that he should have an artists' commune. It will be a house filled with artistic energy and discussions. To get this, he moves to small city in southern France: __. a) Provence b) Arles c) Versailles d) Marseille.
11. He is bedeviled by several forms of illness, says Wikipedia. Which one is Not listed? a) Depression b) Suicidal tendencies c) Epilepsy d) Schizophrenia.
12. While waiting for his artist companion from Paris in the isolated city mentioned above, he does what? __. a) Visits brothels b) paints the rooms c) purchases books d) Paints landscapes.
13. He subsequently spends some time in a former monastery in the town of St Remy, France. Why? a) Recuperation from mental illness b) recuperation from visiting brothels c) becoming a monk d) recuperation from an ill-fated affair with a resident of a brothel.
14. Characteristics of his painting that have made him so notable: ___ brush strokes. ____ __ __ use of color.
15. He moves near Paris to the care of a doctor specializing in melancholia. What do we call that illness today? ___ a) Epilepsy b) depression c) schizophrenia d) halitosis.
16. Following his period of convalescence he shoots himself. Dead. At what age does this occur? __ a) 37 b) 47 c) 57 d) 77.
17. Simon Schama says VG makes his best paintings during what period of his condition? __. a) deep illness b) between illnesses.
18. In the end he has moved far past the artistic style of the day, which was __ . a) impressionism b) realism c) expressionism d) fauvism.
19. He is thus called the father of expressionism but, even more importantly, he is called the progenitor of what general era of art? __ __ a) contemporary b) radical c) modern d) colorful.
Rembrandt quiz
1. Rembrandt Van Rijn was born and raised in a period in which the Dutch were in financial and cultural ascension. T / F
2. R. became a portraitist and teacher in the city of a) Rotterdam b) Leiden c) the Hague d) Amsterdam.
3. Based on his name we know that R's family resided in an area near the a) Danube R. b) Amstel R. c) Thames R. d) Rhine R.
4. R's success coincided with the Golden Age of the Dutch: a) 1500's b) 1600's c) 1700's d) 1800's.
5. In a life that was marked by personal tragedy in the later years, he lived about __ years. a) 30 b) 40 c) 50 d) 60.
6. Much of his work illustrated stories from the __ . a) Business leaders of Holland b) Shakespeare c) King James Bible d) Lives of leading professionals.
6. The Dutch empire extended to the Caribbean. T / F
7. The Dutch empire comprised a part of __ where diamonds and gold were found in abundance. a) South America b) South Africa c) Middle East d) South Asia.
8. Rembrandt's life would have overlapped in small part with that of a) JS Bach b) Mozart c) Beethoven.
9. Chiaroscuro: a) strong contrasts between light and dark b) portraiture with side lighting c) Portraiture done in classic Italian style.
10. Rembrandt lighting includes a triangle of light on the subject's cheek on the side that is a) lighted b) in shadow c) either side.
11. Also a famous resident of Amsterdam: a) Anne Frank b) Adolph Hitler c) Winston Churchill d) JS Bach.
12. Also a famous resident of Amsterdam: a) Edgar Degas b) Vincent Van Gogh c) Henri Matisse d) Claude Monet.
13. Western Europe's principal waterway, the Rhine, rises in Switzerland and empties into the Nord Zee (North Sea) at a) Rotterdam, the Netherlands b) Brussels, Belgium c) Hamburg, Germany d) Calais, France.
14.Painting of an association of clothing merchants in the garb of militiamen: a) The Anatomy Lesson b) The Jewish Bride c) The Syndics d) The Night Watch.
Mona Lisa: enigma!
Mona Lisa (also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde, or Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo[1]) is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci, says Wikipedia. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519. Property of the French State, it is on permanent display at the Musée du Louvre in Paris.
The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a seated woman, Lisa del Giocondo, whose facial expression has been frequently described as enigmatic.[2] The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.[1] The image is widely recognised, caricatured, and sought out by visitors to the Louvre, and it is considered the most famous painting in the world.
Leonardo took the painting from Italy to France in 1516 when King François I invited the painter to work at the Clos Lucé near the king's castle in Amboise. Most likely through the heirs of Leonardo's assistant Salai,[9] the king bought the painting for 4,000 écus and kept it at Château Fontainebleau, where it remained until given to Louis XIV. Louis XIV moved the painting to the Palace of Versailles. After the French Revolution, it was moved to the Louvre. Napoleon I had it moved to his bedroom in the Tuileries Palace; later it was returned to the Louvre.
Mona Lisa was not well known until the mid-19th century when artists of the emerging Symbolist movement began to appreciate it, and associated it with their ideas about feminine mystique.
In Italian, ma donna means my lady. This became madonna, and its contraction mona. Mona is thus a polite form of address, similar to Ma’am, Madam, or my lady in English.
Da Vinci used a pyramid design to place the woman simply and calmly in the space of the painting. Her folded hands form the front corner of the pyramid. Her breast, neck and face glow in the same light that models her hands. The light gives the variety of living surfaces an underlying geometry of spheres and circles.
The painting was among the first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape and Da Vinci was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective.[29] The enigmatic woman is portrayed seated in what appears to be an open loggia with dark pillar bases on either side. Behind her a vast landscape recedes to icy mountains. Winding paths and a distant bridge give only the slightest indications of human presence. The sensuous curves of the woman's hair and clothing are echoed in the undulating imaginary valleys and rivers behind her.
The painting is a half-length portrait and depicts a seated woman, Lisa del Giocondo, whose facial expression has been frequently described as enigmatic.[2] The ambiguity of the subject's expression, the monumentality of the composition, and the subtle modeling of forms and atmospheric illusionism were novel qualities that have contributed to the continuing fascination and study of the work.[1] The image is widely recognised, caricatured, and sought out by visitors to the Louvre, and it is considered the most famous painting in the world.
Leonardo took the painting from Italy to France in 1516 when King François I invited the painter to work at the Clos Lucé near the king's castle in Amboise. Most likely through the heirs of Leonardo's assistant Salai,[9] the king bought the painting for 4,000 écus and kept it at Château Fontainebleau, where it remained until given to Louis XIV. Louis XIV moved the painting to the Palace of Versailles. After the French Revolution, it was moved to the Louvre. Napoleon I had it moved to his bedroom in the Tuileries Palace; later it was returned to the Louvre.
Mona Lisa was not well known until the mid-19th century when artists of the emerging Symbolist movement began to appreciate it, and associated it with their ideas about feminine mystique.
In Italian, ma donna means my lady. This became madonna, and its contraction mona. Mona is thus a polite form of address, similar to Ma’am, Madam, or my lady in English.
Da Vinci used a pyramid design to place the woman simply and calmly in the space of the painting. Her folded hands form the front corner of the pyramid. Her breast, neck and face glow in the same light that models her hands. The light gives the variety of living surfaces an underlying geometry of spheres and circles.
The painting was among the first portraits to depict the sitter before an imaginary landscape and Da Vinci was one of the first painters to use aerial perspective.[29] The enigmatic woman is portrayed seated in what appears to be an open loggia with dark pillar bases on either side. Behind her a vast landscape recedes to icy mountains. Winding paths and a distant bridge give only the slightest indications of human presence. The sensuous curves of the woman's hair and clothing are echoed in the undulating imaginary valleys and rivers behind her.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Dance your PhD
Please check this TED video for a surprising insight into the usefulness of dance as communication.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Vitruvian Man by Leonardo: "one of the most referenced and reproduced artistic images in the world today"
The Vitruvian Man is a world-renowned drawing created by Leonardo da Vinci circa 1487, says Wikipedia.[1]
It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the Roman architect Vitruvius.
The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper, depicts a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square.
The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man. It is stored in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only occasionally.
The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described[4] by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura. Vitruvius described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical orders of architecture.
"The length of the outspread arms is equal to the height of a man," is one of the numerous proportions - written in mirror writing.
The multiple viewpoint that set in with Romanticism has convinced us that there is no such thing as a universal set of proportions for the human body. Vitruvius' statements may be interpreted as statements about average proportions.
Leonardo's drawing combines a careful reading of the ancient text with his own observation of actual human bodies.
The drawing itself is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, of the universe as a whole.
It is accompanied by notes based on the work of the Roman architect Vitruvius.
The drawing, which is in pen and ink on paper, depicts a male figure in two superimposed positions with his arms and legs apart and simultaneously inscribed in a circle and square.
The drawing and text are sometimes called the Canon of Proportions or, less often, Proportions of Man. It is stored in the Gallerie dell'Accademia in Venice, Italy, and, like most works on paper, is displayed only occasionally.
The drawing is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry described[4] by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise De Architectura. Vitruvius described the human figure as being the principal source of proportion among the Classical orders of architecture.
"The length of the outspread arms is equal to the height of a man," is one of the numerous proportions - written in mirror writing.
The multiple viewpoint that set in with Romanticism has convinced us that there is no such thing as a universal set of proportions for the human body. Vitruvius' statements may be interpreted as statements about average proportions.
Leonardo's drawing combines a careful reading of the ancient text with his own observation of actual human bodies.
The drawing itself is often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, of the universe as a whole.
Mona Lisa, the Last Supper and Vitruvian Man are among the iconic works by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo was and is renowned[2] primarily as a painter, says Wikipedia.
Two of his works, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, are the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious paintings of all time, respectively, their fame approached only by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam.[1]
Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon,[4] being reproduced on everything from the Euro to text books to t-shirts.
Perhaps fifteen of his paintings survive, the small number due to his constant, and frequently disastrous, experimentation with new techniques, and his chronic procrastination.[nb 2] Nevertheless, these few works, together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, comprise a contribution to later generations of artists only rivaled by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452 – 1519), was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer.
Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance man, a man whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention.[1] He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.
Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice and spent his last years in France, at the home awarded him by Francis I.
He conceptualised a helicopter, a tank, concentrated solar power, a calculator,[5] the double hull and outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics.
Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime,[nb 3] but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded.
As a scientist, he greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics.[6]
Two of his works, the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, are the most famous, most reproduced and most parodied portrait and religious paintings of all time, respectively, their fame approached only by Michelangelo's Creation of Adam.[1]
Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also regarded as a cultural icon,[4] being reproduced on everything from the Euro to text books to t-shirts.
Perhaps fifteen of his paintings survive, the small number due to his constant, and frequently disastrous, experimentation with new techniques, and his chronic procrastination.[nb 2] Nevertheless, these few works, together with his notebooks, which contain drawings, scientific diagrams, and his thoughts on the nature of painting, comprise a contribution to later generations of artists only rivaled by that of his contemporary, Michelangelo.
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (1452 – 1519), was an Italian polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, botanist and writer.
Leonardo has often been described as the archetype of the Renaissance man, a man whose unquenchable curiosity was equaled only by his powers of invention.[1] He is widely considered to be one of the greatest painters of all time and perhaps the most diversely talented person ever to have lived.
Leonardo was educated in the studio of the renowned Florentine painter, Verrocchio. Much of his earlier working life was spent in the service of Ludovico il Moro in Milan. He later worked in Rome, Bologna and Venice and spent his last years in France, at the home awarded him by Francis I.
He conceptualised a helicopter, a tank, concentrated solar power, a calculator,[5] the double hull and outlined a rudimentary theory of plate tectonics.
Relatively few of his designs were constructed or were even feasible during his lifetime,[nb 3] but some of his smaller inventions, such as an automated bobbin winder and a machine for testing the tensile strength of wire, entered the world of manufacturing unheralded.
As a scientist, he greatly advanced the state of knowledge in the fields of anatomy, civil engineering, optics, and hydrodynamics.[6]
Martha Graham: "Some of you are doomed to be artists"
Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, whose influence on dance can be compared to the influence Stravinsky had on music, Picasso had on the visual arts, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.[1]
Graham invented a new language of movement, says Wikipedia, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience.
She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom.
In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable."
Graham invented a new language of movement, says Wikipedia, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience.
She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom.
In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable."
Radical revision in the world od artful dance: American choreographer Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant garde for more than fifty years, says Wikipedia.
Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance. Cunningham is also notable for his frequent collaborations with artists of other disciplines, including musicians John Cage and David Tudor, artists Robert Rauschenberg and Bruce Nauman, designer Romeo Gigli, and architect Benedetta Tagliabue.
Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance.
As a choreographer, teacher, and leader of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company,[2] Cunningham had a profound influence on modern dance. Many dancers who trained with Cunningham formed their own companies, and they include Paul Taylor, Remy Charlip, Viola Farber, Charles Moulton, Karole Armitage, Robert Kovich, Foofwa d’Immobilité, Kimberly Bartosik, Floanne Ankah and Jonah Bokaer.
In the fall of 1939, Cunningham moved to New York and began a six-year stint as a soloist in the company of Martha Graham. He presented his first solo concert in New York in April 1944 with composer John Cage, who became his life partner and frequent collaborator until Cage's death in 1992.
Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance. Cunningham is also notable for his frequent collaborations with artists of other disciplines, including musicians John Cage and David Tudor, artists Robert Rauschenberg and Bruce Nauman, designer Romeo Gigli, and architect Benedetta Tagliabue.
Works that he produced with these artists had a profound impact on avant-garde art beyond the world of dance.
As a choreographer, teacher, and leader of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company,[2] Cunningham had a profound influence on modern dance. Many dancers who trained with Cunningham formed their own companies, and they include Paul Taylor, Remy Charlip, Viola Farber, Charles Moulton, Karole Armitage, Robert Kovich, Foofwa d’Immobilité, Kimberly Bartosik, Floanne Ankah and Jonah Bokaer.
In the fall of 1939, Cunningham moved to New York and began a six-year stint as a soloist in the company of Martha Graham. He presented his first solo concert in New York in April 1944 with composer John Cage, who became his life partner and frequent collaborator until Cage's death in 1992.
Bill T. Jones, celebrated American modern dance choreographer
In 1994, Bill T Jones, American artistic director, choreographer and dancer, received a MacArthur “Genius” Award.[6]
Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida, in 1952. His family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York. He began his dance training at Binghamton University, where he studied classical ballet and modern dance.
He choreographed and performed worldwide as a soloist and duet company with Arnie Zane before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982.
He has choreographed works for almost every possible dance opportunity,including PBS, the BBC, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Boston Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Berlin Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, among others.
Jones is the co-creator, director and choreographer of the musical Fela!, which ran Off-Broadway in 2008 and opened on Broadway in October 2009. Jones won the Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Choreographer for his work as well as the Tony Award for Best Choreography.[4][5]
In 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.” Jones has received honorary doctorates from the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, Columbia College, the Juilliard School, Swarthmore College, and Yale University.
In 2003 Jones was awarded The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the richest prizes in the arts, given annually to “a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.”[7] In 2005 he received the Wexner Prize at the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University.
In 2007, he won the Tony award for Best Choreography for Spring Awakening.[8]
Bill T Jones was the recipient of the 2011 Young Arts Arison Award which is given annually to an individual who has had a significant influence on the development of young American artists.
Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida, in 1952. His family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York. He began his dance training at Binghamton University, where he studied classical ballet and modern dance.
He choreographed and performed worldwide as a soloist and duet company with Arnie Zane before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982.
He has choreographed works for almost every possible dance opportunity,including PBS, the BBC, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Boston Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Berlin Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, among others.
Jones is the co-creator, director and choreographer of the musical Fela!, which ran Off-Broadway in 2008 and opened on Broadway in October 2009. Jones won the Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Choreographer for his work as well as the Tony Award for Best Choreography.[4][5]
In 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.” Jones has received honorary doctorates from the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, Columbia College, the Juilliard School, Swarthmore College, and Yale University.
In 2003 Jones was awarded The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the richest prizes in the arts, given annually to “a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.”[7] In 2005 he received the Wexner Prize at the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University.
In 2007, he won the Tony award for Best Choreography for Spring Awakening.[8]
Bill T Jones was the recipient of the 2011 Young Arts Arison Award which is given annually to an individual who has had a significant influence on the development of young American artists.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Alvin Ailey, Choreographer and extraordinary American
Alvin Ailey, American modern dancer and choreographer, was born in Rogers, Texas in 1931 and moved to Los Angeles, California at the age of twelve. There, on a junior high school class trip to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, he fell in love with concert dance, says Wikipedia.
Inspired by performances of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and classes with Lester Horton, Mr Ailey began his formal dance training. It was with Mr. Horton, the founder of the first racially integrated dance company in this country, that Mr. Ailey embarked on his professional dance career.
After Horton's death in 1953, Mr. Ailey became the director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In 1954, he and his friend Carmen de Lavallade were invited to New York to dance in the Broadway show, House of Flowers, by Truman Capote.
In New York, Mr. Ailey studied with many outstanding dance artists, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman and took acting classes with Stella Adler. The versatile Ailey won a number of acting roles, continued to choreograph and performed as a dancer.
In 1958, Mr. Ailey founded his own company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Mr. Ailey had a vision of creating a company dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage and the uniqueness of black cultural expression. In 1960 he choreographed Revelations, the classic masterpiece of American modern dance based on the religious heritage of his youth.
Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Ailey created some 79 ballets, many of which have appeared in the repertoire of major dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Paris Opera Ballet and La Scala Ballet.
Mr. Ailey died of complications due to AIDS on December 1, 1989. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times wrote, "You didn't need to have known Ailey personally to have been touched by his humanity, enthusiasm and exuberance and his courageous stand for multiracial brotherhood."
Inspired by performances of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and classes with Lester Horton, Mr Ailey began his formal dance training. It was with Mr. Horton, the founder of the first racially integrated dance company in this country, that Mr. Ailey embarked on his professional dance career.
After Horton's death in 1953, Mr. Ailey became the director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In 1954, he and his friend Carmen de Lavallade were invited to New York to dance in the Broadway show, House of Flowers, by Truman Capote.
In New York, Mr. Ailey studied with many outstanding dance artists, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman and took acting classes with Stella Adler. The versatile Ailey won a number of acting roles, continued to choreograph and performed as a dancer.
In 1958, Mr. Ailey founded his own company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Mr. Ailey had a vision of creating a company dedicated to the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage and the uniqueness of black cultural expression. In 1960 he choreographed Revelations, the classic masterpiece of American modern dance based on the religious heritage of his youth.
Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Ailey created some 79 ballets, many of which have appeared in the repertoire of major dance companies, including American Ballet Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Paris Opera Ballet and La Scala Ballet.
Mr. Ailey died of complications due to AIDS on December 1, 1989. Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times wrote, "You didn't need to have known Ailey personally to have been touched by his humanity, enthusiasm and exuberance and his courageous stand for multiracial brotherhood."
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Tamara Mayer choreographs Fine Arts class @ Magnet on Mon
But the dance sessions will be in the PAC lobby. The stage is set for the band and choir concert.
The PAC lobby is an excellent venue for dance steps.
The PAC lobby is an excellent venue for dance steps.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
One-sheet fine arts project: compare two great dancers
Please choose between
- Isadora Duncan
- Martha Graham
- Josephine Baker
Include
- 2 illustrations
- 5 bulleted factoids on each figure.
- 6 multiple-choice questions; 3 on each person.
Print out.
10 pts.
Due Mon.
- Isadora Duncan
- Martha Graham
- Josephine Baker
Include
- 2 illustrations
- 5 bulleted factoids on each figure.
- 6 multiple-choice questions; 3 on each person.
Print out.
10 pts.
Due Mon.
Twentieth century dance: the Isadora Duncan revolution
Isadora Duncan - 1877 - 1927 - was an American artist of movement and costume who freed women from the constraints of traditional dance forms, especially ballet.
Angela Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, California, says Wikipedia, the youngest of the four children of Joseph Charles Duncan, a banker, mining engineer and connoisseur of the arts, and Mary Isadora Gray, youngest daughter of Thomas Gray, a California state senator.
In her early years, Duncan did attend school but, finding it to be constricting to her individuality, she dropped out. Owing to an untimely divorce and reverse in her family's fortune, there was no extra money. Both she and her sister gave dance classes to local children to earn extra money.
In 1895 Duncan became part of Augustin Daly's theater company in New York. She soon became disillusioned with the form. In 1899 she decided to move to Europe, first to London and then a year later, to Paris. Within two years she achieved both notoriety and success.
The developing Bohemian environment in the Montparnasse section of Paris did not suit her. In 1909 Duncan moved to two large apartments at 5 rue Danton, where she lived on the ground floor and used the first floor for her dance school. Barefoot, dressed in clinging scarves and faux-Grecian tunics, she created a primitivist style of improvisational dance to counter the rigid styles of the time.
She was inspired by the classics, especially Greek myth. She rejected traditional ballet steps to stress improvisation, emotion and the human form. Duncan believed that classical ballet, with its strict rules of posture and formation, was "ugly and against nature"; she gained a wide following that allowed her to set up a school to teach.
Duncan became so famous that she inspired artists and authors to create sculpture, jewelry, poetry, novels, photographs, watercolors, prints and paintings of her.
When the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was built in 1913, her likeness was carved in its bas-relief over the entrance by sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and included in painted murals of the nine muses by Maurice Denis in the auditorium.
Throughout her career Duncan did not like the commercial aspects of public performance, regarding touring, contracts and other practicalities as distractions from her real mission: the creation of beauty and the education of the young. A gifted, if unconventional pedagogue, she was the founder of three schools dedicated to teaching her dance philosophy to groups of young girls (a brief effort to include boys was unsuccessful).
Both in her professional and private lives, Duncan flouted traditional mores and morality.
She was though to be bisexual. She alluded to her Communism during her last United States tour, in 1922-23; Duncan waved a red scarf and bared her breast on stage in Boston, proclaiming, "This is red! So am I!".
Duncan bore two children, both out of wedlock.
Duncan's fondness for flowing scarves was the cause of her death in a freak automobile accident in Nice, France, on the night of September 14, 1927, at the age of 50. Her long scarf, hand-painted silk from the Russian-born artist Roman Chatov, became enmeshed in the wheel of the auto. She was thrown from the open car to her death.
Angela Isadora Duncan was born in San Francisco, California, says Wikipedia, the youngest of the four children of Joseph Charles Duncan, a banker, mining engineer and connoisseur of the arts, and Mary Isadora Gray, youngest daughter of Thomas Gray, a California state senator.
In her early years, Duncan did attend school but, finding it to be constricting to her individuality, she dropped out. Owing to an untimely divorce and reverse in her family's fortune, there was no extra money. Both she and her sister gave dance classes to local children to earn extra money.
In 1895 Duncan became part of Augustin Daly's theater company in New York. She soon became disillusioned with the form. In 1899 she decided to move to Europe, first to London and then a year later, to Paris. Within two years she achieved both notoriety and success.
The developing Bohemian environment in the Montparnasse section of Paris did not suit her. In 1909 Duncan moved to two large apartments at 5 rue Danton, where she lived on the ground floor and used the first floor for her dance school. Barefoot, dressed in clinging scarves and faux-Grecian tunics, she created a primitivist style of improvisational dance to counter the rigid styles of the time.
She was inspired by the classics, especially Greek myth. She rejected traditional ballet steps to stress improvisation, emotion and the human form. Duncan believed that classical ballet, with its strict rules of posture and formation, was "ugly and against nature"; she gained a wide following that allowed her to set up a school to teach.
Duncan became so famous that she inspired artists and authors to create sculpture, jewelry, poetry, novels, photographs, watercolors, prints and paintings of her.
When the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was built in 1913, her likeness was carved in its bas-relief over the entrance by sculptor Antoine Bourdelle and included in painted murals of the nine muses by Maurice Denis in the auditorium.
Throughout her career Duncan did not like the commercial aspects of public performance, regarding touring, contracts and other practicalities as distractions from her real mission: the creation of beauty and the education of the young. A gifted, if unconventional pedagogue, she was the founder of three schools dedicated to teaching her dance philosophy to groups of young girls (a brief effort to include boys was unsuccessful).
Both in her professional and private lives, Duncan flouted traditional mores and morality.
She was though to be bisexual. She alluded to her Communism during her last United States tour, in 1922-23; Duncan waved a red scarf and bared her breast on stage in Boston, proclaiming, "This is red! So am I!".
Duncan bore two children, both out of wedlock.
Duncan's fondness for flowing scarves was the cause of her death in a freak automobile accident in Nice, France, on the night of September 14, 1927, at the age of 50. Her long scarf, hand-painted silk from the Russian-born artist Roman Chatov, became enmeshed in the wheel of the auto. She was thrown from the open car to her death.
Caravaggio quiz plus France and Ansel Adams
1. Caravaggio painted in numerous locales, among them Roma and a small
island southeast of Italy: a) Sicily b) Malta c) Corsica d) Sardinia.
2. Caravaggio was commissioned to paint primarily by (the) __ . a) Catholic church b) Italian noblemen c) growing Italian middle class d) Roman senators.
3. Caravaggio's style was notable for its dramatic use of light and
shadow, a technique known as __ (spelling counts).
4. The Normandy invasion undertaken by the Allies in WWII took place alongside the English Channel in __ France. a) Southwest b) Northwest c) Mediterranean d) Brittany.
5. Region of France favored by the majority of painters and sculptors:
a) Cote d'Azur b) Provence c) Champagne d) Burgundy.
6. Shutter noise - if minor - due to the internal mirror which must move for an exposure to take place: a) Rangefinder camera b) Single lens reflex camera c) Imax camera.
7. The expensive, prestigious and reliable German camera company
favored by Henri Cartier-Bresson: a) Nikon b) Canon c) Hasselblad d) Leica.
8. This female from Jewish biblical literature decapitated the Assyrian commander named Holofernes: a) Judith b) Leah c) Esther d) Rachel.
9. While working for Leland Stanford in California Eadweard Muybridge was a pioneer in photography that recorded movement . After their falling out, Muybridge shot most of his movement studies for the Univ of __ . a) California b) Texas c) Pennsylvania d) Michigan.
10. Boggis, Bunce and Bean: a) Leland Stanford b) Eadweard Muybridge c) Roald Dahl d) Caravaggio.
11. Escargots à la Bourguignonne: a) Bordeaux b) Burgundy c) Normandy d) Cote d'Azur.
12. The Decisive Moment: a) Eadweard Muybridge b) Roald Dahl c) Caravaggio d) Henri Cartier-Bresson.
island southeast of Italy: a) Sicily b) Malta c) Corsica d) Sardinia.
2. Caravaggio was commissioned to paint primarily by (the) __ . a) Catholic church b) Italian noblemen c) growing Italian middle class d) Roman senators.
3. Caravaggio's style was notable for its dramatic use of light and
shadow, a technique known as __ (spelling counts).
4. The Normandy invasion undertaken by the Allies in WWII took place alongside the English Channel in __ France. a) Southwest b) Northwest c) Mediterranean d) Brittany.
5. Region of France favored by the majority of painters and sculptors:
a) Cote d'Azur b) Provence c) Champagne d) Burgundy.
6. Shutter noise - if minor - due to the internal mirror which must move for an exposure to take place: a) Rangefinder camera b) Single lens reflex camera c) Imax camera.
7. The expensive, prestigious and reliable German camera company
favored by Henri Cartier-Bresson: a) Nikon b) Canon c) Hasselblad d) Leica.
8. This female from Jewish biblical literature decapitated the Assyrian commander named Holofernes: a) Judith b) Leah c) Esther d) Rachel.
9. While working for Leland Stanford in California Eadweard Muybridge was a pioneer in photography that recorded movement . After their falling out, Muybridge shot most of his movement studies for the Univ of __ . a) California b) Texas c) Pennsylvania d) Michigan.
10. Boggis, Bunce and Bean: a) Leland Stanford b) Eadweard Muybridge c) Roald Dahl d) Caravaggio.
11. Escargots à la Bourguignonne: a) Bordeaux b) Burgundy c) Normandy d) Cote d'Azur.
12. The Decisive Moment: a) Eadweard Muybridge b) Roald Dahl c) Caravaggio d) Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Wheat fields and a starry night: Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent Van Gogh -
1. Home nation? __
2. Father's occupation and Vincent's first vocation? ___
3. City in which VG realizes that his task in life is to reach the people - esp the common and impoverished people of Europe? a) London b) Amsterdam c) Antwerp d) Paris
4. He returns to the continent to a city in Belgium where he is inspired by Japanese woodcuts and paintings by Rubens. ____, Belgium.
5. The most important person in his life. Steady subsidizer and moral support were unconditionally granted. __ .
6. His next stop is the city that is the capital of the art world in the nineteenth century. __ .
7. During his time in the big city he lives near his brother. There we see that an important part of his historic record, or documentation of his life, is missing. His __ are the record is his life.
8. There he paints his most famous still lives, some dozen versions of this subject. The object of these paintings? __
9. In this city he meets one of the leading painters of the day, the enormously creative and virile Paul __ .
10. VG believes that he should have an artists' commune. It will be a house filled with artistic energy and discussions. To get this, he moves to small city in southern France: __.
11. He is bedeviled by 2 major forms of illness, says Wikipedia: __ , __ .
12. While waiting for his artist companion from Paris in the isolated French city mentioned above, he does what? __.
13. He subsequently spends some time in a former monastery in the town of St Remy, France. Why?
14. Characteristics of his painting that have made him so notable: ___ brush strokes. ____ __ __ use of color.
15. He moves near Paris to the care of a doctor specializing in melancholia. What do we call that illness today? ___
16. Following his period of convalescence he shoots himself. Dead. At what age does this occur? __
17. Simon Schama says VG makes his best paintings during what period of his condition? __.
18. In the end he has moved far past the artistic style of the day, which was __ .
19. He is thus called the father of expressionism but, even more importantly, he is called the progenitor of what general era of art? __ __
1. Home nation? __
2. Father's occupation and Vincent's first vocation? ___
3. City in which VG realizes that his task in life is to reach the people - esp the common and impoverished people of Europe? a) London b) Amsterdam c) Antwerp d) Paris
4. He returns to the continent to a city in Belgium where he is inspired by Japanese woodcuts and paintings by Rubens. ____, Belgium.
5. The most important person in his life. Steady subsidizer and moral support were unconditionally granted. __ .
6. His next stop is the city that is the capital of the art world in the nineteenth century. __ .
7. During his time in the big city he lives near his brother. There we see that an important part of his historic record, or documentation of his life, is missing. His __ are the record is his life.
8. There he paints his most famous still lives, some dozen versions of this subject. The object of these paintings? __
9. In this city he meets one of the leading painters of the day, the enormously creative and virile Paul __ .
10. VG believes that he should have an artists' commune. It will be a house filled with artistic energy and discussions. To get this, he moves to small city in southern France: __.
11. He is bedeviled by 2 major forms of illness, says Wikipedia: __ , __ .
12. While waiting for his artist companion from Paris in the isolated French city mentioned above, he does what? __.
13. He subsequently spends some time in a former monastery in the town of St Remy, France. Why?
14. Characteristics of his painting that have made him so notable: ___ brush strokes. ____ __ __ use of color.
15. He moves near Paris to the care of a doctor specializing in melancholia. What do we call that illness today? ___
16. Following his period of convalescence he shoots himself. Dead. At what age does this occur? __
17. Simon Schama says VG makes his best paintings during what period of his condition? __.
18. In the end he has moved far past the artistic style of the day, which was __ .
19. He is thus called the father of expressionism but, even more importantly, he is called the progenitor of what general era of art? __ __
Friday, November 18, 2011
Recommended indie movie: Vincent & Theo (1990)
Vincent & Theo: Rottentomatoes.com gives it an 87% rating. I liked it a lot. Famous indie director Robert Altman made the movie.
Recommended. Write about it, too.
Recommended. Write about it, too.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Fine arts Magnet / Van Gogh
Vincent's odyssey -
- Holland
- London
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Paris
- Arles, France
- St Remy, treated in the psychiatric center at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole, 1889–1890.
- Auvers-sur-Oise, a suburb of Paris. Final treatments and his suicide.
- Holland
- London
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Paris
- Arles, France
- St Remy, treated in the psychiatric center at Monastery Saint-Paul de Mausole, 1889–1890.
- Auvers-sur-Oise, a suburb of Paris. Final treatments and his suicide.
Vincent Van Gogh: 3 years of breakthrough painting in the south of France
Vincent van Gogh, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression, was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland, says vangoghgallery.com.
The son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional and lacked self-confidence. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and
unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium), where he was dismissed for overzealousness.
He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. In the Belgian city of Antwerp he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints.
In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists.
His nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long drinking and discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health.
He decided to go south to Arles, France, where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art.
He had moved to the town with thoughts of founding a utopian art colony, and the Danish artist Christian Mourier-Petersen (1858–1945), became his companion for two months.
Arles appeared exotic and filthy to van Gogh, says Wikipedia. In a letter he described it as a foreign country: "The Zouaves, the brothels, the adorable little Arlesiennes going to their First Communion, the priest in his surplice, who looks like a dangerous rhinocerous, the people drinking absinthe, all seem to me creatures from another world".[85]
Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. Near the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to ultimately leave Arles. Van Gogh pursued him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his own ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.
In May of 1890, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the watchful eye of Dr. Gachet. Two months later he was dead, having shot himself "for the good of all." During his brief career he had sold one painting.
Van Gogh's finest works were produced in less than three years in a technique that grew more and more impassioned in brushstroke, in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line. Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature.
He was a prolific self-portraitist, who painted himself 37 times between 1886 and 1889. In just over a decade, he produced more than 2,100 artworks, consisting of 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300 watercolors, drawings, sketches and prints. His work included self portraits, landscapes, still lifes of flowers, portraits and paintings of cypresses, wheat fields and sunflowers.
In one of his 200 letters to his brother, Theo, he said, "Real painters do not paint things as they are...They paint them as they themselves feel them to be".
The son of a pastor, brought up in a religious and cultured atmosphere, Vincent was highly emotional and lacked self-confidence. Between 1860 and 1880, when he finally decided to become an artist, van Gogh had had two unsuitable and
unhappy romances and had worked unsuccessfully as a clerk in a bookstore, an art salesman, and a preacher in the Borinage (a dreary mining district in Belgium), where he was dismissed for overzealousness.
He remained in Belgium to study art, determined to give happiness by creating beauty. In the Belgian city of Antwerp he discovered the works of Rubens and purchased many Japanese prints.
In 1886 he went to Paris to join his brother Théo, the manager of Goupil's gallery. In Paris, van Gogh studied with Cormon, inevitably met Pissarro, Monet, and Gauguin, and began to lighten his very dark palette and to paint in the short brushstrokes of the Impressionists.
His nervous temperament made him a difficult companion and night-long drinking and discussions combined with painting all day undermined his health.
He decided to go south to Arles, France, where he hoped his friends would join him and help found a school of art.
He had moved to the town with thoughts of founding a utopian art colony, and the Danish artist Christian Mourier-Petersen (1858–1945), became his companion for two months.
Arles appeared exotic and filthy to van Gogh, says Wikipedia. In a letter he described it as a foreign country: "The Zouaves, the brothels, the adorable little Arlesiennes going to their First Communion, the priest in his surplice, who looks like a dangerous rhinocerous, the people drinking absinthe, all seem to me creatures from another world".[85]
Gauguin did join him but with disastrous results. Near the end of 1888, an incident led Gauguin to ultimately leave Arles. Van Gogh pursued him with an open razor, was stopped by Gauguin, but ended up cutting a portion of his own ear lobe off. Van Gogh then began to alternate between fits of madness and lucidity and was sent to the asylum in Saint-Remy for treatment.
In May of 1890, he seemed much better and went to live in Auvers-sur-Oise under the watchful eye of Dr. Gachet. Two months later he was dead, having shot himself "for the good of all." During his brief career he had sold one painting.
Van Gogh's finest works were produced in less than three years in a technique that grew more and more impassioned in brushstroke, in symbolic and intense color, in surface tension, and in the movement and vibration of form and line. Van Gogh's inimitable fusion of form and content is powerful; dramatic, lyrically rhythmic, imaginative, and emotional, for the artist was completely absorbed in the effort to explain either his struggle against madness or his comprehension of the spiritual essence of man and nature.
He was a prolific self-portraitist, who painted himself 37 times between 1886 and 1889. In just over a decade, he produced more than 2,100 artworks, consisting of 860 oil paintings and more than 1,300 watercolors, drawings, sketches and prints. His work included self portraits, landscapes, still lifes of flowers, portraits and paintings of cypresses, wheat fields and sunflowers.
In one of his 200 letters to his brother, Theo, he said, "Real painters do not paint things as they are...They paint them as they themselves feel them to be".
Drink of 19th century writers, painters and poets: absinthe
Absinthe is historically described as a distilled, highly alcoholic (90-148 proof) beverage, says Wikipedia.
It is an anise-flavoured spirit (licorice-flavored) derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel.
Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but can also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the "green fairy" in French).
Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It achieved great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley and Alfred Jarry were all known drinkers of absinthe.[6]
By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries.
Traditionally, absinthe is prepared by placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted spoon and then placing the spoon on the glass which has been filled with a shot of absinthe. Ice-cold water is then poured or dripped over the sugar cube so that the water is slowly and evenly displaced into the absinthe, typically 1 part absinthe and 3 to 5 parts water. During this process, components not soluble in water (mainly those from anise, fennel, and star anise) come out of solution and cloud the drink.
It is an anise-flavoured spirit (licorice-flavored) derived from herbs, including the flowers and leaves of the herb Artemisia absinthium, commonly referred to as "grande wormwood", together with green anise and sweet fennel.
Absinthe traditionally has a natural green colour but can also be colourless. It is commonly referred to in historical literature as "la fée verte" (the "green fairy" in French).
Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It achieved great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Amedeo Modigliani, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Aleister Crowley and Alfred Jarry were all known drinkers of absinthe.[6]
By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries.
Traditionally, absinthe is prepared by placing a sugar cube on top of a specially designed slotted spoon and then placing the spoon on the glass which has been filled with a shot of absinthe. Ice-cold water is then poured or dripped over the sugar cube so that the water is slowly and evenly displaced into the absinthe, typically 1 part absinthe and 3 to 5 parts water. During this process, components not soluble in water (mainly those from anise, fennel, and star anise) come out of solution and cloud the drink.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
NYC - MoMA: Vincent van Gogh's The Starry Night
"This morning I saw the country from my window a long time before sunrise," the artist wrote to his brother Theo, "with nothing but the morning star, which looked very big."
Rooted in imagination and memory, The Starry Night embodies an inner, subjective expression of van Gogh's response to nature, says the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
In thick sweeping brushstrokes, a flamelike cypress unites the churning sky and the quiet village below. The village was partly invented, and the church spire evokes van Gogh's native land, the Netherlands.
During his stay in the hospital at St Remy he made several studies of the hospital interiors, such as Vestibule of the Asylum and Saint-Remy (September 1889). Some of the work from this time is characterized by swirls—including one of his best-known paintings The Starry Night.
Rooted in imagination and memory, The Starry Night embodies an inner, subjective expression of van Gogh's response to nature, says the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
In thick sweeping brushstrokes, a flamelike cypress unites the churning sky and the quiet village below. The village was partly invented, and the church spire evokes van Gogh's native land, the Netherlands.
During his stay in the hospital at St Remy he made several studies of the hospital interiors, such as Vestibule of the Asylum and Saint-Remy (September 1889). Some of the work from this time is characterized by swirls—including one of his best-known paintings The Starry Night.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers (1888)
Sunflowers (original title, in French: Tournesols) are the subject of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, says Wikipedia.
The earlier series executed in Paris in 1887 gives the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set executed a year later in Arles shows bouquets of sunflowers in a vase. In the artist's mind, says Wikipedia, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions.
In 1888 Van Gogh moved to Arles, in the Provence region of France, with thoughts of founding a utopian art colony. Gauguin agreed to join him in Arles, giving Van Gogh much hope for friendship and his collective of artists. Waiting, in August, he painted sunflowers.
In December 1888, frustrated and ill, Van Gogh confronted Gauguin with a razor blade. In panic, Van Gogh left their hotel and fled to a local brothel. While there, he cut off the lower part of his left ear lobe. He wrapped the severed tissue in newspaper and handed it to a prostitute named Rachel, asking her to "keep this object carefully."[98]
Gauguin left Arles and never saw Van Gogh again.[a 4] Days later, Van Gogh was hospitalized and left in a critical state for several days. In less than a year he would enter an asylum to be treated for insanity.
Although he had been troubled by mental illness throughout his life, the episodes became more pronounced during his last few years. In some of these periods he was either unwilling or unable to paint, a factor which added to the mounting frustrations of an artist at the peak of his ability.
His depression gradually deepened. On 27 July 1890, aged 37, he walked into a field and shot himself in the chest with a revolver. He survived the impact, but not realizing that his injuries were to be fatal, he walked back to the Ravoux Inn. He died there two days later. Theo rushed to be at his side. Theo reported his brother's last words as "La tristesse durera toujours" (the sadness will last forever).[118]
The earlier series executed in Paris in 1887 gives the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set executed a year later in Arles shows bouquets of sunflowers in a vase. In the artist's mind, says Wikipedia, both sets were linked by the name of his friend Paul Gauguin, who acquired two of the Paris versions.
In 1888 Van Gogh moved to Arles, in the Provence region of France, with thoughts of founding a utopian art colony. Gauguin agreed to join him in Arles, giving Van Gogh much hope for friendship and his collective of artists. Waiting, in August, he painted sunflowers.
In December 1888, frustrated and ill, Van Gogh confronted Gauguin with a razor blade. In panic, Van Gogh left their hotel and fled to a local brothel. While there, he cut off the lower part of his left ear lobe. He wrapped the severed tissue in newspaper and handed it to a prostitute named Rachel, asking her to "keep this object carefully."[98]
Gauguin left Arles and never saw Van Gogh again.[a 4] Days later, Van Gogh was hospitalized and left in a critical state for several days. In less than a year he would enter an asylum to be treated for insanity.
Although he had been troubled by mental illness throughout his life, the episodes became more pronounced during his last few years. In some of these periods he was either unwilling or unable to paint, a factor which added to the mounting frustrations of an artist at the peak of his ability.
His depression gradually deepened. On 27 July 1890, aged 37, he walked into a field and shot himself in the chest with a revolver. He survived the impact, but not realizing that his injuries were to be fatal, he walked back to the Ravoux Inn. He died there two days later. Theo rushed to be at his side. Theo reported his brother's last words as "La tristesse durera toujours" (the sadness will last forever).[118]
Monday, November 7, 2011
Permission signature for field trip to Artspace / Fantastic Mr. Fox
Please get a parent signature on a sheet of paper that says Field Trip to Artspace on Tues, Nov 8. Upon a school bus.
Trip will take place during the Fine Arts class period.
Trip will take place during the Fine Arts class period.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Fine arts / puppetry / 10 pt character plus environment
Puppetry is used in almost all human societies both as an entertainment – in performance – and ceremonially in rituals and celebrations such as carnivals, says Wikipedia.[2]
Most puppetry involves storytelling. The impact of puppetry depends on the process of transformation of puppets, which has much in common with magic and with play.
Puppetry is a very ancient art form, thought to have originated about 30,000 years ago.[1]
Puppets have been used since the earliest times to animate and communicate the ideas and needs of human societies.[3] Some historians claim that they pre-date actors in theatre.
There is evidence that they were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread. Wire controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have also been found in Egyptian tombs. Hieroglyphs also describe "walking statues" being used in Ancient Egyptian religious dramas.[1]
Although there are few remaining examples of puppets from ancient Greece, historical literature shows the existence of puppetry. The Greek word usually translated as "puppets" is "neurospasta", from "nervus", meaning either sinew, tendon, muscle, string, or wire, which literally means "string-pulling" and "span", to pull. Aristotle referred to pulling strings to control heads, hands and eyes, shoulders and legs.[15] Plato's work also contains references to puppetry. The Iliad and the Odyssey were presented using puppetry.
India has a great tradition of puppetry. In the great Indian epic Mahabharata there are references to puppets. The Rajasthani Puppet from India is notable and there are many Indian ventriloquists and puppeteers. The first Indian ventriloquist, Professor Y.K. Padhye, introduced this form of puppetry to India in the 1920s and his son, Ramdas Padhye, subsequently popularised ventriloquism and puppetry.
Indonesia has a strong tradition of puppetry. In Java, wayang kulit, an elaborate form of shadow puppetry is very popular. Javanese rod puppets have a long history and are used to tell fables from Javanese history.
Italy is considered by many to be the early home of the marionette due to the influence of Roman puppetry. Xenophon and Plutarch refer to them.[17] The Christian church used marionettes to perform morality plays.[17] It is believed that the word marionette originates from the little figures of the Virgin Mary, hence the word "marionette" or "Mary doll.[18] Comedy was introduced to the plays as time went by, and ultimately led to a church edict banning puppetry. Puppeteers responded by setting up stages outside cathedrals and became even more ribald and slapstick. Out of this grew the Italian comedy called Commedia dell'arte. Puppets were used at times in this form of theatre and sometimes Shakespeare's plays were performed using marionettes instead of actors.[19]
British Puppet theatre (Punch and Judy style), c. 1770
The traditional British Punch and Judy puppetry traces its roots to the 16th century to the Italian commedia dell'arte.[21] The character of "Punch" derives from the character Pulcinella, which was Anglicized to Punchinello. He is a manifestation of the Lord of Misrule and Trickster, figures of deep-rooted mythologies. Punch's wife was originally "Joan", but later became "Judy". In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the familiar Punch and Judy puppet show which existed in Britain was performed in an easily-transportable booth.
Activity
Make a paper puppet and its environment.
Design, cut out, color and paste . . .
- head
- torso
- arms and hands
- thighs
- lower legs and feet
- environment may be sketched on the page as a base for the project.
- additional articulacy of your puppet may earn up to 10 additional points.
Most puppetry involves storytelling. The impact of puppetry depends on the process of transformation of puppets, which has much in common with magic and with play.
Puppetry is a very ancient art form, thought to have originated about 30,000 years ago.[1]
Puppets have been used since the earliest times to animate and communicate the ideas and needs of human societies.[3] Some historians claim that they pre-date actors in theatre.
There is evidence that they were used in Egypt as early as 2000 BC when string-operated figures of wood were manipulated to perform the action of kneading bread. Wire controlled, articulated puppets made of clay and ivory have also been found in Egyptian tombs. Hieroglyphs also describe "walking statues" being used in Ancient Egyptian religious dramas.[1]
Although there are few remaining examples of puppets from ancient Greece, historical literature shows the existence of puppetry. The Greek word usually translated as "puppets" is "neurospasta", from "nervus", meaning either sinew, tendon, muscle, string, or wire, which literally means "string-pulling" and "span", to pull. Aristotle referred to pulling strings to control heads, hands and eyes, shoulders and legs.[15] Plato's work also contains references to puppetry. The Iliad and the Odyssey were presented using puppetry.
India has a great tradition of puppetry. In the great Indian epic Mahabharata there are references to puppets. The Rajasthani Puppet from India is notable and there are many Indian ventriloquists and puppeteers. The first Indian ventriloquist, Professor Y.K. Padhye, introduced this form of puppetry to India in the 1920s and his son, Ramdas Padhye, subsequently popularised ventriloquism and puppetry.
Indonesia has a strong tradition of puppetry. In Java, wayang kulit, an elaborate form of shadow puppetry is very popular. Javanese rod puppets have a long history and are used to tell fables from Javanese history.
Italy is considered by many to be the early home of the marionette due to the influence of Roman puppetry. Xenophon and Plutarch refer to them.[17] The Christian church used marionettes to perform morality plays.[17] It is believed that the word marionette originates from the little figures of the Virgin Mary, hence the word "marionette" or "Mary doll.[18] Comedy was introduced to the plays as time went by, and ultimately led to a church edict banning puppetry. Puppeteers responded by setting up stages outside cathedrals and became even more ribald and slapstick. Out of this grew the Italian comedy called Commedia dell'arte. Puppets were used at times in this form of theatre and sometimes Shakespeare's plays were performed using marionettes instead of actors.[19]
British Puppet theatre (Punch and Judy style), c. 1770
The traditional British Punch and Judy puppetry traces its roots to the 16th century to the Italian commedia dell'arte.[21] The character of "Punch" derives from the character Pulcinella, which was Anglicized to Punchinello. He is a manifestation of the Lord of Misrule and Trickster, figures of deep-rooted mythologies. Punch's wife was originally "Joan", but later became "Judy". In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the familiar Punch and Judy puppet show which existed in Britain was performed in an easily-transportable booth.
Activity
Make a paper puppet and its environment.
Design, cut out, color and paste . . .
- head
- torso
- arms and hands
- thighs
- lower legs and feet
- environment may be sketched on the page as a base for the project.
- additional articulacy of your puppet may earn up to 10 additional points.
Ansel Adams, creator of iconic landscapes of the American West
Ansel Easton Adams (1902 – 1984) was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park, says Wikipedia.
With Fred Archer, Adams developed the Adams primarily used large-format cameras despite their size, weight, setup time, and film cost, because their high resolution helped ensure sharpness in his images.
His photographs are reproduced on calendars, posters, and in books, making his photographs widely distributed.
After young Ansel was dismissed from several private schools for his restlessness and inattentiveness, his father decided to pull him out of school in 1915, at the age of 12. Adams was then educated by private tutors, his Aunt Mary, and by his father. His Aunt Mary was a follower of Robert G. Ingersoll, a 19th century agnostic, abolitionist and women's suffrage advocate. As a result of his Aunt's influence, Ingersoll's teachings were important to Ansel's upbringing.[11]
During the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, his father insisted that, as part of his education, Adams spend part of each day studying the exhibits.
He taught himself piano at age twelve. Music became the main focus of his later youth.
His father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie box camera at age 14.
"I believe in beauty. I believe in stones and water, air and soil, people and their future and their fate."[22] He decided that the purpose of his art, whether photography or music, was to reveal that beauty to others and to inspire them to the same calling.
In 1927, Adams produced his first portfolio, Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras, in his new style, which included his famous image Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, taken with his Korona view camera using glass plates and a dark red filter (to heighten the tonal contrasts). On that excursion, he had only one plate left and he "visualized" the effect of the blackened sky before risking the last shot. As he stated, "I had been able to realize a desired image: not the way the subject appeared in reality but how it felt to me and how it must appear in the finished print".
During the 1930s, many photographers including Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans believed they had a social obligation to reveal the harsh times of the Depression through their art. Mostly resistant to the "art for life's sake" movement, Adams did begin in the 1930s to deploy his photographs in the cause of wilderness preservation. In part, he was inspired by the increasing desecration of Yosemite Valley by commercial development, including a pool hall, bowling alley, golf course, shops, and automobile traffic. He created a limited-edition book in 1938, Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail, as part of the Sierra Club's efforts to secure the designation of Sequoia and Kings Canyon as national parks. This book and his testimony before Congress played a vital role in the success of the effort, and Congress designated the area as a National Park in 1940.
Adams was distressed by the Japanese American Internment that occurred after the Pearl Harbor attack. He requested permission to visit the Manzanar War Relocation Center in the Owens Valley, at the foot of Mount Williamson. The resulting photo-essay first appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibit, and later was published as Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans.
Adams's black-and-white photographs of the West which became the foremost record of what many of the National Parks were like before tourism, and his persistent advocacy helped expand the National Park system. He skillfully used his works to promote many of the goals of the Sierra Club and of the nascent environmental movement, but always insisted that, as far as his photographs were concerned, "beauty comes first".
He reminded his students, "It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium."[73]
With Fred Archer, Adams developed the Adams primarily used large-format cameras despite their size, weight, setup time, and film cost, because their high resolution helped ensure sharpness in his images.
His photographs are reproduced on calendars, posters, and in books, making his photographs widely distributed.
After young Ansel was dismissed from several private schools for his restlessness and inattentiveness, his father decided to pull him out of school in 1915, at the age of 12. Adams was then educated by private tutors, his Aunt Mary, and by his father. His Aunt Mary was a follower of Robert G. Ingersoll, a 19th century agnostic, abolitionist and women's suffrage advocate. As a result of his Aunt's influence, Ingersoll's teachings were important to Ansel's upbringing.[11]
During the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, his father insisted that, as part of his education, Adams spend part of each day studying the exhibits.
He taught himself piano at age twelve. Music became the main focus of his later youth.
His father gave him his first camera, a Kodak Brownie box camera at age 14.
"I believe in beauty. I believe in stones and water, air and soil, people and their future and their fate."[22] He decided that the purpose of his art, whether photography or music, was to reveal that beauty to others and to inspire them to the same calling.
In 1927, Adams produced his first portfolio, Parmelian Prints of the High Sierras, in his new style, which included his famous image Monolith, the Face of Half Dome, taken with his Korona view camera using glass plates and a dark red filter (to heighten the tonal contrasts). On that excursion, he had only one plate left and he "visualized" the effect of the blackened sky before risking the last shot. As he stated, "I had been able to realize a desired image: not the way the subject appeared in reality but how it felt to me and how it must appear in the finished print".
During the 1930s, many photographers including Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans believed they had a social obligation to reveal the harsh times of the Depression through their art. Mostly resistant to the "art for life's sake" movement, Adams did begin in the 1930s to deploy his photographs in the cause of wilderness preservation. In part, he was inspired by the increasing desecration of Yosemite Valley by commercial development, including a pool hall, bowling alley, golf course, shops, and automobile traffic. He created a limited-edition book in 1938, Sierra Nevada: The John Muir Trail, as part of the Sierra Club's efforts to secure the designation of Sequoia and Kings Canyon as national parks. This book and his testimony before Congress played a vital role in the success of the effort, and Congress designated the area as a National Park in 1940.
Adams was distressed by the Japanese American Internment that occurred after the Pearl Harbor attack. He requested permission to visit the Manzanar War Relocation Center in the Owens Valley, at the foot of Mount Williamson. The resulting photo-essay first appeared in a Museum of Modern Art exhibit, and later was published as Born Free and Equal: The Story of Loyal Japanese-Americans.
Adams's black-and-white photographs of the West which became the foremost record of what many of the National Parks were like before tourism, and his persistent advocacy helped expand the National Park system. He skillfully used his works to promote many of the goals of the Sierra Club and of the nascent environmental movement, but always insisted that, as far as his photographs were concerned, "beauty comes first".
He reminded his students, "It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium."[73]
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Sunday picnic on the Marne River: Henri Cartier-Bresson
"Although he would later be feted as the father of photojournalism, Henry Cartier-Bresson was at his best when he was taking photos which didn’t ‘report’ anything — men in Parisian streets, sunbathers whether they be at Peter and Paul fortress or Coney Island. At the first glance, the above picture — one of Cartier-Bresson’s most famous — seems exactly like it: languorous workers in Juvisny spending a lazy afternoon on the bank of River Marne."
- Iconic Photos
An alternative view:
Craig Silver for Forbes Magazine: "At the working-class picnic on a river bank in France everyone is porcine and unlovely, the light is dreary, the grass is scraggly. It’s as if the photographer is saying, “How amusing that they think this is festive!”
- Iconic Photos
An alternative view:
Craig Silver for Forbes Magazine: "At the working-class picnic on a river bank in France everyone is porcine and unlovely, the light is dreary, the grass is scraggly. It’s as if the photographer is saying, “How amusing that they think this is festive!”
Monday, October 31, 2011
Essential to Fine Arts: the map of the Mediterranean
At the moment, we're learning Italy and neighbors through the travels of painter Caravaggio.
- Milano
- Florence
- Roma
- Napoli / Isla Capri
- Vesuvio
- Sicily
- Malta
- Tunisia / Carthage (continent of Africa, continent of Africa)
There's also the map of France (see below) that helps us place the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson as well as Picasso and Matisse.
- Milano
- Florence
- Roma
- Napoli / Isla Capri
- Vesuvio
- Sicily
- Malta
- Tunisia / Carthage (continent of Africa, continent of Africa)
There's also the map of France (see below) that helps us place the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson as well as Picasso and Matisse.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Behind Saint-Lazare Station - Paris 1932 by photojournalist Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908 – 2004) was a French photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism.
He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography, says Wikipedia.
He helped develop the "street photography" or "real life reportage" style that has influenced generations of photographers who followed.
He explained, "I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant."[citation needed] He acquired the Leica camera with 50 mm lens in Marseilles that would accompany him for many years. He described the Leica as an extension of his eye.[citation needed] The anonymity that the small camera gave him in a crowd or during an intimate moment was essential in overcoming the formal and unnatural behavior of those who were aware of being photographed. He enhanced his anonymity by painting all shiny parts of the Leica with black paint.
The Leica opened up new possibilities in photography — the ability to capture the world in its actual state of movement and transformation. He said, "I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to pounce, ready to 'trap' life."[citation needed] Restless, he photographed in Berlin, Brussels, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and Madrid.
Cartier-Bresson's, The Decisive Moment, the 1952 US edition of Images à la sauvette. The book contains the term "the decisive moment" now synonymous with Cartier-Bresson: "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment."
Cartier-Bresson achieved international recognition for his coverage of Gandhi's funeral in India in 1948 and the last (1949) stage of the Chinese Civil War. He covered the last six months of the Kuomintang administration and the first six months of the Maoist People's Republic. He also photographed the last surviving Imperial eunuchs in Beijing, as the city was falling to the communists. From China, he went on to Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), where he documented the gaining of independence from the Dutch.
In 1952, Cartier-Bresson published his book Images à la sauvette, whose English edition was titled The Decisive Moment. It included a portfolio of 126 of his photos from the East and the West.
He was inspired by the thought that, "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment."
"Photography is not like painting," Cartier-Bresson told the Washington Post in 1957. "There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."[7]
He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography, says Wikipedia.
He helped develop the "street photography" or "real life reportage" style that has influenced generations of photographers who followed.
He explained, "I suddenly understood that a photograph could fix eternity in an instant."[citation needed] He acquired the Leica camera with 50 mm lens in Marseilles that would accompany him for many years. He described the Leica as an extension of his eye.[citation needed] The anonymity that the small camera gave him in a crowd or during an intimate moment was essential in overcoming the formal and unnatural behavior of those who were aware of being photographed. He enhanced his anonymity by painting all shiny parts of the Leica with black paint.
The Leica opened up new possibilities in photography — the ability to capture the world in its actual state of movement and transformation. He said, "I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to pounce, ready to 'trap' life."[citation needed] Restless, he photographed in Berlin, Brussels, Warsaw, Prague, Budapest and Madrid.
Cartier-Bresson's, The Decisive Moment, the 1952 US edition of Images à la sauvette. The book contains the term "the decisive moment" now synonymous with Cartier-Bresson: "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment."
Cartier-Bresson achieved international recognition for his coverage of Gandhi's funeral in India in 1948 and the last (1949) stage of the Chinese Civil War. He covered the last six months of the Kuomintang administration and the first six months of the Maoist People's Republic. He also photographed the last surviving Imperial eunuchs in Beijing, as the city was falling to the communists. From China, he went on to Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), where he documented the gaining of independence from the Dutch.
In 1952, Cartier-Bresson published his book Images à la sauvette, whose English edition was titled The Decisive Moment. It included a portfolio of 126 of his photos from the East and the West.
He was inspired by the thought that, "There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment."
"Photography is not like painting," Cartier-Bresson told the Washington Post in 1957. "There is a creative fraction of a second when you are taking a picture. Your eye must see a composition or an expression that life itself offers you, and you must know with intuition when to click the camera. That is the moment the photographer is creative," he said. "Oop! The Moment! Once you miss it, it is gone forever."[7]
Mozart's Sister has arrived at Robinson Film Center
Reviews are mixed for the indie movie Mozart's Sister, recently playing at RFC.
Rottentomatoes.com has an array of reviews, the trailer and this summary:
A speculative account of Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart (Marie Feret), five years older than Wolfgang (David Moreau) and a musical prodigy in her own right. Originally the featured performer, she has given way to Wolfgang as the main attraction, as their strict but loving father Leopold (Marc Barbe) tours his talented offspring in front of the royal courts of pre-French revolution Europe.
Bonus points for brief critical essays on the movie.
Rottentomatoes.com has an array of reviews, the trailer and this summary:
A speculative account of Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart (Marie Feret), five years older than Wolfgang (David Moreau) and a musical prodigy in her own right. Originally the featured performer, she has given way to Wolfgang as the main attraction, as their strict but loving father Leopold (Marc Barbe) tours his talented offspring in front of the royal courts of pre-French revolution Europe.
Bonus points for brief critical essays on the movie.
British author Roald Dahl created Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach and the Fantastic Mr. Fox
Roald Dahl (1916 – 1990) was a British novelist, short story writer, fighter pilot and screenwriter, says Wikipedia.
Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander.
Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors.[3][4] He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".[5]
His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour.
Some of his notable works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George's Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches and The BFG.
In Mr Fox the eponymous hero feeds his family by stealing chickens, ducks, and turkeys each night from three mean and wealthy farmers: Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.
The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him.
In the Artspace version Mr Fox is voiced by New Orleans musician Johhny Vidacovich and is cast as a vulnerable father who is down on his luck and losing ground in his battle with the farmers.
Born in Wales to Norwegian parents, he served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, in which he became a flying ace and intelligence agent, rising to the rank of Wing Commander.
Dahl rose to prominence in the 1940s with works for both children and adults, and became one of the world's best-selling authors.[3][4] He has been referred to as "one of the greatest storytellers for children of the 20th century".[5]
His short stories are known for their unexpected endings, and his children's books for their unsentimental, often very dark humour.
Some of his notable works include James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, George's Marvellous Medicine, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda, The Witches and The BFG.
In Mr Fox the eponymous hero feeds his family by stealing chickens, ducks, and turkeys each night from three mean and wealthy farmers: Boggis, Bunce, and Bean.
The farmers are fed up with Mr Fox's theft and try to kill him.
In the Artspace version Mr Fox is voiced by New Orleans musician Johhny Vidacovich and is cast as a vulnerable father who is down on his luck and losing ground in his battle with the farmers.
Class fees of $10 being used for $8 charge for visit to field trip to experience Fantastic Mr Fox / Artspace Shreveport on Tues, Nov 8; parents invited
The Fantastic Mr Fox production at Artspace Shreveport is an innovative and artistic experience that brings to life Roald Dahl's classic book of the same name.
Created and first performed in New Orleans, the show combines puppetry, dioramas, lighting, soundtrack and audience participation.
Each fine arts class will visit Artspace during their class block on Tues, Nov 8, to experience the show.
Parents are invited to join in the visit.
Class fees of $10 have been paid by most students. Please see jpams. The Mr Fox fee of $8 per student will be paid from the class fund.
Created and first performed in New Orleans, the show combines puppetry, dioramas, lighting, soundtrack and audience participation.
Each fine arts class will visit Artspace during their class block on Tues, Nov 8, to experience the show.
Parents are invited to join in the visit.
Class fees of $10 have been paid by most students. Please see jpams. The Mr Fox fee of $8 per student will be paid from the class fund.
Blog and notes quiz Wed, Nov 2
Reading comprehension and information management - ie, knowing the material that is on the blog and in your class notes - will be tested again on Wed, Nov 2.
Some 12 - 15 questions will be mostly but not entirely multiple choice.
Some 12 - 15 questions will be mostly but not entirely multiple choice.
Fine arts independent projects due Th, Nov 10
Projects in sculpture, painting, photography, video and other fine arts media are due Th, Nov 10, for 15 pts each person.
Students may work solo or in a duo.
Approximately 25 minutes in each class will be devoted to indie projects. Students are expected to match the class time with equivalent homework time. Bringing appropriate materials to class in timely fashion is also your responsibility.
Early completion of a highly-realized project will earn a 5 pt bonus.
Students may work solo or in a duo.
Approximately 25 minutes in each class will be devoted to indie projects. Students are expected to match the class time with equivalent homework time. Bringing appropriate materials to class in timely fashion is also your responsibility.
Early completion of a highly-realized project will earn a 5 pt bonus.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Pioneer in moving pictures: Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard J. Muybridge (1830 – 1904) was an English photographer who spent much of his life in the United States, says Wikipedia.
He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures. It pre-dated the flexible perforated film strip.
In 1872, former Governor of California Leland Stanford, a businessman and race-horse owner, had taken a position on a popularly-debated question of the day: whether all four of a horse's hooves are off the ground at the same time during the trot. Up until this time, most paintings of horses at full gallop showed the front legs extended forward and the hind legs extended to the rear. [9] Stanford sided with this assertion, called "unsupported transit", and took it upon himself to prove it scientifically. Stanford sought out Muybridge and hired him to settle the question.[10]
In later studies Muybridge used a series of large cameras that used glass plates placed in a line, each one being triggered by a thread as the horse passed. Later a clockwork device was used. The images were copied in the form of silhouettes onto a disc and viewed in a machine called a Zoopraxiscope. This in fact became an intermediate stage towards motion pictures or cinematography.
At the University of Pennsylvania in the 1880's Muybridge used banks of cameras to photograph people and animals to study their movement.
The models, either entirely nude or with very little clothing, were photographed in a variety of undertakings, ranging from boxing, to walking down stairs, to throwing water over one another and carrying buckets of water.
Between 1883 and 1886 he made a total of 100,000 images, working under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. They were published as 781 plates comprising 20,000 of the photographs in a collection titled Animal Locomotion.[16]
Muybridge's work stands near the beginning of the science of biomechanics and the mechanics of athletics.
At the Chicago 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Muybridge gave a series of lectures on the Science of Animal Locomotion in the Zoopraxographical Hall, built specially for that purpose.
He used his zoopraxiscope to show his moving pictures to a paying public, making the Hall the very first commercial movie theater.[17]
He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion which used multiple cameras to capture motion, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures. It pre-dated the flexible perforated film strip.
In 1872, former Governor of California Leland Stanford, a businessman and race-horse owner, had taken a position on a popularly-debated question of the day: whether all four of a horse's hooves are off the ground at the same time during the trot. Up until this time, most paintings of horses at full gallop showed the front legs extended forward and the hind legs extended to the rear. [9] Stanford sided with this assertion, called "unsupported transit", and took it upon himself to prove it scientifically. Stanford sought out Muybridge and hired him to settle the question.[10]
In later studies Muybridge used a series of large cameras that used glass plates placed in a line, each one being triggered by a thread as the horse passed. Later a clockwork device was used. The images were copied in the form of silhouettes onto a disc and viewed in a machine called a Zoopraxiscope. This in fact became an intermediate stage towards motion pictures or cinematography.
At the University of Pennsylvania in the 1880's Muybridge used banks of cameras to photograph people and animals to study their movement.
The models, either entirely nude or with very little clothing, were photographed in a variety of undertakings, ranging from boxing, to walking down stairs, to throwing water over one another and carrying buckets of water.
Between 1883 and 1886 he made a total of 100,000 images, working under the auspices of the University of Pennsylvania. They were published as 781 plates comprising 20,000 of the photographs in a collection titled Animal Locomotion.[16]
Muybridge's work stands near the beginning of the science of biomechanics and the mechanics of athletics.
At the Chicago 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, Muybridge gave a series of lectures on the Science of Animal Locomotion in the Zoopraxographical Hall, built specially for that purpose.
He used his zoopraxiscope to show his moving pictures to a paying public, making the Hall the very first commercial movie theater.[17]
Judith mit dem Haupt des Holofernes, 1530, Holland
Lucas CRANACH the Elder, Judith mit dem Haupt des Holofernes, 1530
Originally uploaded by Ondra Havala
In the story, Judith, a beautiful widow, is able to enter the tent of Holofernes because of his desire for her. Holofernes was an Assyrian general who was about to destroy Judith's home, the city of Bethulia, though the story is emphatic that no "defilement" takes place.
Overcome with drink, he passes out and is decapitated by Judith; his head is taken away in a basket (often depicted as carried by an elderly female servant).
Artists have mainly chosen one of two possible scenes (with or without the servant): the decapitation, with Holofernes prone on the bed, or the heroine holding or carrying the head.
Thanks to Natalie Rambis!
Fine arts survey: basic film cameras, terms that remain mostly applicable today
SLR
Pros
Direct focusing control
Precise framing
Depth-of-field control (if available)
Unlimited lens/filter options
Ability to use tilt/shift, macro and long lenses
efficient flare check in contra-light
Rangefinder
Compact
Quiet and practically vibration-free
Very bright, aperture independent viewfinder
Superb wide-angle and normal lenses
Maximum optical quality at f/4-5.6, while excellent at maximum apertures
Short shutter lag
Cons
SLR
Large and heavy
Vibrations restrict hand-hold photography
Retrofocus design plagues wide-angle lenses
Maximum optical quality at f/8-11 while often mediocre at maximum apertures for 28-80 lenses.
Often considerable shutter lag
Dark viewfinder with f/5.6 and slower lenses
Rangefinder
Telephoto lenses are limited to 135 mm or shorter (coincident rangefinder cameras)
Awkward macro-photography (if possible at all)
Possible parallax errors at close-up focusing
Rudimentary depth-of-field control
Focus control is indirect
polarizers cannot be used (without major obstacles)
potential mismatch between lens flare vs rangefinder
Pros
Direct focusing control
Precise framing
Depth-of-field control (if available)
Unlimited lens/filter options
Ability to use tilt/shift, macro and long lenses
efficient flare check in contra-light
Rangefinder
Compact
Quiet and practically vibration-free
Very bright, aperture independent viewfinder
Superb wide-angle and normal lenses
Maximum optical quality at f/4-5.6, while excellent at maximum apertures
Short shutter lag
Cons
SLR
Large and heavy
Vibrations restrict hand-hold photography
Retrofocus design plagues wide-angle lenses
Maximum optical quality at f/8-11 while often mediocre at maximum apertures for 28-80 lenses.
Often considerable shutter lag
Dark viewfinder with f/5.6 and slower lenses
Rangefinder
Telephoto lenses are limited to 135 mm or shorter (coincident rangefinder cameras)
Awkward macro-photography (if possible at all)
Possible parallax errors at close-up focusing
Rudimentary depth-of-field control
Focus control is indirect
polarizers cannot be used (without major obstacles)
potential mismatch between lens flare vs rangefinder
What to know in the fine arts center, France
The best-known regions -
- Normandy - 1) the invasion of England in 1066 by William of Normandy, aka William the Bastard 2) Normandy invasion of German-occupied France by British, American, Australian and French forces June 6, 1944.
- Bordeaux - It is the world's major wine industry capital. Also notable here: pate de foie gras and lamb dishes.
- Cote d'Azur: yachts and beautiful, wealthy people sun themselves in St Tropez, Nice and Cannes. Picasso lived in the region for years.
- Provence - Painters love the light here: residents include Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Matisse and Picasso, among many.
- Burgundy is the region of some of the most expensive French wines, as well as dishes such as Boeuf Burguignon, Coq au vin and Escargots à la Bourguignonne.
- Paris
- Marseille
- Bordeaux
- Strasbourg
- Rhine R.
- Loire R.
- Normandy - 1) the invasion of England in 1066 by William of Normandy, aka William the Bastard 2) Normandy invasion of German-occupied France by British, American, Australian and French forces June 6, 1944.
- Bordeaux - It is the world's major wine industry capital. Also notable here: pate de foie gras and lamb dishes.
- Cote d'Azur: yachts and beautiful, wealthy people sun themselves in St Tropez, Nice and Cannes. Picasso lived in the region for years.
- Provence - Painters love the light here: residents include Cezanne, Van Gogh, Renoir, Monet, Matisse and Picasso, among many.
- Burgundy is the region of some of the most expensive French wines, as well as dishes such as Boeuf Burguignon, Coq au vin and Escargots à la Bourguignonne.
- Paris
- Marseille
- Bordeaux
- Strasbourg
- Rhine R.
- Loire R.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Italian artist Caravaggio's "David with the head of Goliath"
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571 – 1610) was an Italian artist active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily between 1593 and 1610, says Wikipedia.
His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque school of painting. Among others, he influenced Rembrandt.
Caravaggio's style was a radical naturalism which combined close physical observation with a dramatic, even theatrical, use of chiaroscuro. He painted the shift from light to dark with little intermediate value.
He burst upon the Rome art scene in 1600 with the success of his first public commissions, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew. Thereafter he never lacked for commissions or patrons, yet he handled his success badly, being caught in several felonious assaults.
The Cardsharps is perhaps Caravaggio's first true masterpiece.
Already evident was the intense realism or naturalism for which Caravaggio is now famous. He preferred to paint his subjects as the eye sees them, with all their natural flaws and defects instead of as idealised creations. This allowed a full display of Caravaggio's virtuosic talents. This shift from accepted standard practice and the classical idealism of Michelangelo was very controversial at the time. Not only was his realism a noteworthy feature of his paintings during this period, he turned away from the lengthy preparations traditional in central Italy at the time. Instead, he preferred the Venetian practice of working in oils directly from the subject - half-length figures and still life.
In 1599, presumably through the influence of Cardinal Del Monte, Caravaggio was contracted to decorate the Contarelli Chapel. The two works making up the commission, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew, delivered in 1600, were an immediate sensation.
Major works from his Malta (Mediterranean island south of Sicily) period include a huge Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (the only painting to which he put his signature) and a Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page, as well as portraits of other leading knights.
He painted also a David with the Head of Goliath, showing the young David with a strangely sorrowful expression gazing on the severed head of the giant, which is Caravaggio's.
His paintings, which combine a realistic observation of the human state, both physical and emotional, with a dramatic use of lighting, had a formative influence on the Baroque school of painting. Among others, he influenced Rembrandt.
Caravaggio's style was a radical naturalism which combined close physical observation with a dramatic, even theatrical, use of chiaroscuro. He painted the shift from light to dark with little intermediate value.
He burst upon the Rome art scene in 1600 with the success of his first public commissions, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew. Thereafter he never lacked for commissions or patrons, yet he handled his success badly, being caught in several felonious assaults.
The Cardsharps is perhaps Caravaggio's first true masterpiece.
Already evident was the intense realism or naturalism for which Caravaggio is now famous. He preferred to paint his subjects as the eye sees them, with all their natural flaws and defects instead of as idealised creations. This allowed a full display of Caravaggio's virtuosic talents. This shift from accepted standard practice and the classical idealism of Michelangelo was very controversial at the time. Not only was his realism a noteworthy feature of his paintings during this period, he turned away from the lengthy preparations traditional in central Italy at the time. Instead, he preferred the Venetian practice of working in oils directly from the subject - half-length figures and still life.
In 1599, presumably through the influence of Cardinal Del Monte, Caravaggio was contracted to decorate the Contarelli Chapel. The two works making up the commission, the Martyrdom of Saint Matthew and Calling of Saint Matthew, delivered in 1600, were an immediate sensation.
Major works from his Malta (Mediterranean island south of Sicily) period include a huge Beheading of Saint John the Baptist (the only painting to which he put his signature) and a Portrait of Alof de Wignacourt and his Page, as well as portraits of other leading knights.
He painted also a David with the Head of Goliath, showing the young David with a strangely sorrowful expression gazing on the severed head of the giant, which is Caravaggio's.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Rembrandt color photo project due Tues, Oct 25, 15 pts
In imitation of Rembrandt the next batch of 3 photos must be -
- subjects must be dressy in attire; ie, with collared shirt, hat, scarf, etc.
- a half-figure - from a bit above the waist.
- feature dramatic side lighting.
- 2 in ordinary color.
- one photo in black & white that has been hand-colored.
- be mounted on card stock or matted.
- be well focused.
- have a very plain backdrop.
- avoid harsh shadows and feature a sober mien.
- subjects must be dressy in attire; ie, with collared shirt, hat, scarf, etc.
- a half-figure - from a bit above the waist.
- feature dramatic side lighting.
- 2 in ordinary color.
- one photo in black & white that has been hand-colored.
- be mounted on card stock or matted.
- be well focused.
- have a very plain backdrop.
- avoid harsh shadows and feature a sober mien.
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