arts_are_life

arts_are_life @ 2005-12-07T16:35:00

2005-12-07T21:45:54Z

having two journals is hard. lol. oh well, I have for you today a taste of romanesque, gothic, and moving into renaissance art, and mostly, architecture.

Also, i have decided to test the waters with a photobucket account, so as to see how that stuff works. Im hoping it works, so mainly, this post i think will be testing, and then you can recieve a fun lecture on art.

I feel very bad though, because i havent been updating this thing like i should, which i think makes me seem like i dont like this stuff as much as i do, but thats totally not true, because today was our last lecture for A-H 105- and i almost cried. In this lecture, Dr. Wheeler brought in my one of my favorites, as a prelude to ah 106 (which i of course, have already taken)

Thats right folks. The Ghent Altarpiece, By Jan Van Eyck. More specifically, this is the first work of art i ever fell in love with from an art history stand point, so it gets to be in the Favorites category. More specifically than that, I fell in love with the broach on God/Jesus, on the 2nd day of class in AH 106 last spring when Dr. Peters brought in a gorgeous slide of the broach that in actuality measures 3 inches across, and is _far_ out perfect.

i was going to make it smaller, but then decided against this move, as it would make the detail smaller. I cant find a good picture of the broach itself, which annoys me greatly, but, alas, Every detail is perfect, there is meaning in everything; even the brocade behind God/Jesus' Head, and well, its just golly gee willikers gorgeous.

hmmm, i guess ill talk about gothic architecture, and Ribbed Vaulting next time....

Photobucket

2005-12-07T21:37:33Z

This is a test post from Photobucket.com

arts_are_life @ 2005-11-18T09:28:00

2005-11-18T15:40:58Z

So i havent updated this thing in a while for a couple of reasons;

a. school has been hectic

b. the a-h i have been learning has been fun, but not drop dead OH MY GOD awesome. So, ive not felt like updating.

Since my Gudea v. Khufu essay, ive learned about ancient Greece and Rome, and early Christian and Byzantine art. So, in this semester, ive learned alot alot alot alot of stuff- and i took a test last week, hopefully to recieve it today- But, i learned _everything_- So

:-:-:A Brief Review:-:-:

Ancient Greece

this place was cool before anyone else was cool. They loved art, and history and music, and philosophy and math, and politics before Anyone else, and, All at the same time. This is why they're the standard to which the world keeps going back to, because they totally rocked the world. In this respect, the Greeks continually invented and explored all sorts of artistic expression, almost actively trying to get more and more realistic as quickly as possible. And because they didnt have a Phaeroh breathing down their necks, they had the ability to do it, and thats how in 150 years they went from

way cool. The first is the New York Kouros- which is basically a greekier copy of the statue of Menkaure (From Egypt) Hes greeker 'cause hes naked. And, well, That was Just Not Done in egypt, so there.

The second is Kritios Boy- the first statue EVER to have contrapposto pose!!!!!!!!!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

its amazing!!!

well, crap. i have to go. Next time: expect the analysis of statuary testicle art, and of course, Roman, Early Christian and Byzantine art

arts_are_life @ 2005-09-19T11:31:00

2005-09-19T15:34:56Z

Sarah Katherine

A-H 105

September 19, 2005

Power Set In Stone

Since the beginning of the Nation state, Rulers have been trying to figure out a way to make their subjects loyal, happy, contented citizens. Some build temples, some disperse pamphlets, and some even use flashy TV commercials. By and large, the idea is to project an image that sticks, and represents what that leader feels will help bolster their image the most. For the ancient Egyptians and Sumerians, this was no different, and we have many images from the kings of this time that represent this desire to project power. Two portrait sculptures, of Gudea of Lagash and Khafre of Egypt, eloquently represent the desire to display the power and divinity held by the kings in every way possible, for all eternity.

The statue of Gudea comes from Lagash, in ancient Sumer, at around 2100 B.C. In this statue, the King Gudea sits on a short throne with his hands clasped in prayer. On his lap is a tablet, with the detail of a temple plan on it. Around his throne there are cuneiform inscriptions that explain the subject matter. As explained, he has had dream sent to him from the gods, in which he is told he must build a temple, and is shown a temple plan to follow. In reality, Gudea did build quite a few temples, and the statue attests to his piety and worship of the gods, the patronage he gave to architecture, and also explains his justified reasoning for doing so; to keep the gods, and thus his people, happy.

Although only about two and a half feet tall (29 inches), this small statue conveys a monumental feeling from the way it was sculpted. It is made of black diorite, a very hard stone, and so any carving from it, is very difficult. The resulting statue is understandably compact; Gudea is very wedded to his throne. There is no space between his body and arms, and his feet are planted firmly on the base of the statue. These aspects convey both the desire to keep the statue around for a very long time (Diorite is very hard to break, even after 4000 years, the statue is still relatively well in-tact except for the cleanly cut off head), as well as the desire to convey the immense power and importance of Gudea. His very naturalistic strong right arm is an even more physical representation of his power. This was a very necessary element of propaganda; the war torn area of Sumer was in a near-constant power struggle, and to survive, the king had to be strong. All of these elements, the diorite, his pious subject matter, and his strong body represent Gudea as an everlasting strong leader, whose piety helps both him and his people.

The statue of Khafre, is equally intended to display power, but in a different way altogether. This statue comes from Egypt, from the Old Kingdom, c. 2520-2494 B.C. Found in the funerary complex at Giza, in this statue, Khafre is seated firmly on his throne, which is still very reminiscent of the original block it was carved from. The king wears the typical kilt of men in ancient Egypt, but also wears the Nemes ceremonial headpiece and fake beard that only a pharaoh was allowed to wear. At his head is a carved falcon, representing the god Horus, to protect him, and to protect him further, carved on his throne are two standing lions and symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt. Just like the Gudea portrait, this statue is very compact, as it is also made of diorite; there is no space between the legs of the King and the throne, and the arms wrap tightly around the body, making Khafre seem very rigid. Although highly naturalistic, the body itself is also highly idealized to the Egyptian standard of youthful beauty, and unlike Gudea, this portrait is over life sized, this king is 5’6 tall, even though he is seated. All of these elements intentionally represent what is considered the best of Egypt, as an eternally powerful Pharaoh in the afterlife. The Egyptians were obsessed with enduring qualities, and it was the responsibility of the king to make sure that their repeated yearly cycles happened over and over again, to maintain their status quo, their maat. This statue was meant to hold the Ka of this pharaoh, or his spirit, so that he could continue to ensure maat for his citizens in a powerful and regal way for all eternity.

While propaganda and the images that convey the messages have changed, the idea since ancient times has remained constant. To be an effective leader, in this life and ever after, a king, or president or manager must make those under him have a feeling of confidence, fear and respect for the power and abilities they possess. The two statues of Gudea and Khafre do just that; both are meant to convey immense power to viewer, but Gudea wanted to show his eternal piety in the midst of a war torn society, where Khafre wanted to show his eternal power and glory to maintain maat for his people. Both achieve these aims well, as they are well understood to this day.

I DID IT!

2005-09-03T05:13:32Z

I am officially an Art History Minor at the University of Kentucky! Sweet!

From this point forward i have 30 extra hours to my normal coursework to get! IM SO EXCITED- Dr. Peters so completely rox my sox, shes just like, an interesting aunt that im slightly intimidated by in a good way kind of person (intimidated in that way that i immensely respect her, and dont want to say anything stupid around her because i will be taking more classes with her where she will directly influence my grade)

But, while i still have Dr. Wheeler, who i have decided, is awesome too- i will enjoy the a-h im learning right now-

today we did Stonehenge

and an Aerial:

And heres a drawing of what some presumptuous bastard thinks it looked like once upon a time:

Because it comes from pre history, we of course havent got a clue what it was ACTUALLY used for, but because the sun comes up directly one of the stones for the summer solstice and sets directly under one for the winter solstice, there is a good reason to bet that it had something to do with the seasons, and with newly needed knowledge of the changing seasons for their new ability to farm- its easy to see that such a massive effort was put into something that seems so simple today.

the little circles around the perimeter are called Aubrey holes- and they arent stones, they're actually holes in the ground that have chalk in them, so its easy to see from, say, an aerial perspective. They also dont know why these exist, but my teacher suggested that timber could have been placed within them, and an entire structure could have existed that was far more temporary than the stone we see today. Super intruiging.

Also, in the aerial picture i found, and in a couple others, people are able to go up into the stonehenge area, and there is gravel all around, and in later pictures, they've changed this....all of which affects the landscape and is kinda fun.

We move on to Ancient Near East Next Week!

yay! school started

2005-08-26T17:23:25Z

Thank Gooodness- school has begun, and with it, Art History 105. i have yet to actually talk to Dr. Peters about making A-H my minor, but thats because...i guess i dont have a good reason. i'll do it this week.

anywho. ancient to medieval art- alot more sculpture and architecture, so i doubt i'll get to sit in class in a post-orgasmic sensory overload every MWF at 2 (because paintings just stir me sooo much more)- but, it will be fun and awesome anyway. its like art with alot more history, where 106 was the other way around. which is fine by me, since im a history major.

So, i doodled around artstor today, which was delightful, and to celebrate this in combo with my New class- heres some fun art thats really old: es mucho prettio

that is all for now.

Continued Museum

2005-04-14T23:08:27Z

So as i was saying....

3) Venus of Urbino- Titian. I love this painting. Its sensual and pretty and fleshy and all those other wonderful things that one thinks of when they think of Venice and its paintings. Its the sensuous richness that i love- and i dont know what it is that represents me about it- but its one of my favorites anyway.

4) Self Portrait- Frida Kahlo. I almost feel like i dont need to explain her, her works explains her just fine on its own. And thats what i like about it. its so open, and un afraid, and so graphically true that you cant hide from it, and yet it is still beautiful and amazing; and i live my live like an open book, and i feel that i am like her in this way.

5) Elizabeth I- Unknown artist. What can i say about this painting? I love who it is about, aside from the pretty painting. She is my idol, a strong, remarkable woman before women were allowed to be strong, remarkable women. I believe that she paved the way for Me to be able to do whatever i want, besides the fact that she was TOTALLY cool- and shes just awesome. I see my fierce independence and self reliance in her.

The other two works i used were my own, which is terribly hedonistic- But if i were to have an imaginary museum, You bet your sweet behind my works would be in there. of course i dont have them on the internet, so i cant post them, but i think i'll have to figure it out....

that is all for now.

If Dr. Peters is visiting;

Welcome, welcome!! This is my special artstuff only blog, and i hope it is fun, and at the very least accurate :):):):)

Imaginary Art Museum

2005-04-14T17:49:32Z

Although this entire journal is like an imaginary art museum; for art history this week, i have been asked to make one for my class, and say what that says about me. I did it, but was entirely perturbed by the fact that i couldnt print it in color, which is, um, 3/4 of the reasons i love the paintings that i love. So i got to thinking about it, and decided to post them all here, cept for the 2 that are mine, because i dont actually know how to do that.

Sarah's Imaginary Museum

1) Oriental Poppies by Georgia Okeefe- this work is intense, and beautiful and suggestive...and i love it. Im passionate about most things, and this painting, and every other painting by O'Keeffe, are the most passionate intense works of art I have ever seen.

2) Starry Night- Vincent Van Gogh- This painting conveys more emotion and feeling than any other painting on the face of the earth, and i love Vincent Van Gogh- he was the subject of my last post. I have the most varied and deep range of emotions of anyone i know, and that is how i think i am represented by this work.

mmm. i love van gogh.

Continued in next entry~~~~~~

arts_are_life @ 2005-04-08T13:43:00

2005-04-08T17:57:45Z

So, i havent updated this in a while because of time constraints, and because the period style we've been in, Baroque, im not particularly fond of...

BUT! We have ARRIVED at REALISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND ITS SUBSECT IMPRESSIONISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND ITS SUBSECT(S)- POST IMPRESSIONISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND THAT MEANS VAN GOGH

(and saurat and cezanne and gaugin, and monet and corbet and manet and renoir, and all those other amazing artists i just LOVE- because i paint just like them)

first and foremost, go here: http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/main_az.htm

its every painting, drawing, sketch he ever did. EVER. crazy man.

but now, for the presentation of the works....where to begin

That is all.

Artemesia

2005-03-04T15:38:47Z

So, i think im in love with Ms. Gentileschi- professionally speaking.

I looked at all of her works; and she amazes me- i must see one in person!!! Shes a woman, and a kick ass artist from the 1600s. She ran her own household, and raised two daughters to be artists as well. I find a kindred spirit in her. Yay

And while almost all of the paintings i have shown so far have envolved nakedness; Can you blame me. Here is her Susanna and the Elders. Because she was a woman, she more accurately painted the female body than anyone else ive ever seen

thats a real boobie, and a real body too- Much more so than say

thats not even a real body, imo- though its cute- The artist may have been playing out his biggest fantasy in a Madonna and child. Who knows?

p.s.- isnt the mouse mood icon sooooo cute?

Judith+women artists=Rocks

2005-03-02T18:40:47Z

Yesterday in art history, we started Baroque! Its all about emotion and such, but ive yet to really be wowed. Cept for the lady artist- Artemisia Gentileschi- a kick ass painter and woman that did her part to rock her world. The painting we looked at was Judith Slaying Holofernes- Judith was the bibles equivilant to David. The assyrians were besieging her city, she snuck in, seduced the general, once he got drunk enough, she cut off his head, and stapled it to the door of the city. Needless to say, she saved the day. Anywho. Artemisia, who was a woman, and who had been raped and put through a ghastly trial about it, Knew that women had it in them to be tough and aggressors; but this of course was NOT what was thought of women in her time. So heres hers- its nasty and intense btw:

eeewww- those women are really cutting his head off...intense and powerful right???

Heres one, Same subject, by a male artist- Caravaggio- a true revolutionary in his time because of how real and intense his paintings were-

Shes young and pretty, and its all she can do to cut off his head- Hopefully with the help of God. Because he was a man, dispite his genius, he was incapable of showing a woman intentionally killing a man- and her demure passive nature is what was expected and assumed of women at the time.

Cooool, huh??

More David; but the goooood side.

2005-02-28T06:38:04Z

Im not really one for ass, but when you see a good one; Its usually a damned good one. and so today, after HOURS- (more like 20 minutes) of true searching; i found it.

Davids backside. Because though you see the front, and that sad little weeny like 20,000 times; How many times do you get to look at that ass? Well; let me tell you. Its simply sumptuous- observe;

And in Context (which is better):

And i smooshed it too, so the weblink is http://www.jmu.edu/arthistory/images/david2.jpg- do go. mmm mmm mmm.

Delicioso.

ANYWAY...

The fun thing about David is his context. Curiousity got the best of me, and today i found out why Mr.Buonarroti (Yes, i looked up how to spell that) made David's winky so very, very small- Seeing as it is indeed- VERY small. And you would think that wierd for a body that is supposed to be the most perfect male form ever sculpted right? But no, the scene depicted is that of David in the moments before he goes up against Goliath; and the David we see is in that instant that he has to get together all that he is to go against a giant, and according to some scientists who supposively know what they're talking about- He is anatomically perfectly represented in his moment of extreme tension, from the right tensed muscles, the right relaxed ones, and indeed, the shrunk willy that relays to the "Fight or Flight" syndrome that i am so fond of- where un-neccisary organs shrink/lose blood and go white so that all of the blood can go where its needed- in the arms and legs (to either fight like a banche or run like hell. Cool huh?) In fact, the statue is anatomically correct in every way it can be, except for a small part of Davids back; Which Michelangelo was actually aware of, and it was not due to his lack of ability to do so, but his lack of material. Neat Huh??? :):)

Note: I came back later to try and add a nice front picture, but it wont let you do that, Annoyingly, So- heres a fun couple of links:

Just the winky: http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/xeyr/circum/davids.gif

A nice small frontal: http://bilder.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/2005/01/26/antiker__pe__nis/2645989-AKG__00096106,property=Bild.jpg

A nice BIG frontal: http://wadaphoto.jp/images/itadabide.jpg

arts_are_life @ 2005-02-26T23:55:00

2005-02-27T05:47:14Z

Second entry of the day; cause i just got home from work. Right now i want to try and see how well pictures of statues work. I love sculpture almost as much as i like paintings, though i feel paintings tend to be more expressive because, well, they have to be. A statue is really there, and so, you dont have to imagine anything- but sculptors are still amazing artists. This very subject was actually discussed between two of the great artists of the High Renaissance; Da Vinci and Michelangelo; With Leonardo being on the side of painting being a higher art form, and of course Michelangelo considering Sculpture to be a higher art form. Its kind of like comparing apples and oranges really. they're both fruit, but comparing otherwise becomes useless.

Well, ive decided its alot harder to find good pictures of statues than it is of paintings; go figure. I'll come back and elaborate on the cooleness of both later, its late and im sleepy..

arts_are_life @ 2005-02-26T17:45:00

2005-02-26T22:52:58Z

This of course, will be my first entry in this journal, so hullo to all who have come on request, random search, and so on! I am greatly happy that i have decided to do this, because im always afraid ill just annoy everyone if i talk too much about art in my normal journal, but i think about it all the time, and so, lol, i figured id be true to myself and polite at the same time. So, um, yeah!!!!

lol

Just a very, very pretty picture, Venus of Urbino By Titian. This painting set the standard for every reclining nude *EVER*. The funny thing is that this Venus probably isnt actually supposed to be a Venus; Titian didnt name the thing- Its probably just some cortisan who is waiting to get dressed that just so happened to be beautiful enough to be the subject of a masterpiece. I dont know why it is that i like nudes so much; I think they just tend to be so beautifully painted.

What colors should i have for this LJ??? Part of me thinks all white so that the paintings can stand out, but i dunno....