Searching

Sometimes I feel like this. I can relate to this girl- alone, sad, wondering what her purpose in life is. At least, that is the message I feel when I look at the painting. Eugene Delacroix was a French painter who was not afraid of dark emotions- in many of his paintings there is turmoil, angst, drama, anger, or sadness. Sometimes a single painting has all of those vibes. He was a Romantic painter, paying great attention to expressing passion in his art.

This painting is called “Orphan Girl at the Cemetery” and it is oil on canvas. The way he composed the piece draws your attention to the portrait of the girl, who looks dazed and alone. You can barely see a tear forming in her eye that is closest to the viewer. After some time I realized that the background is actually littered with several gravestones that show it is a cemetery. The colors are solemn, much like the girl. It just feels grey. It is a subtle passion, or a painter who was passionate about painting the lack of passion the girl had.

The moment where you feel numb and empty- searching. I think Delacroix captured that moment very well.

Are we searching?

Crying Through Art and Observing Community

So you guys already know that I was struggling to find the tears for a while. I kept feeling like I should cry, but the tears wouldn’t come, so many times I found myself drawing crying eyes. I would cry through my art, because the tears just wouldn’t come. There are crying eye sketches all throughout my journals, my watercolor pieces, and littering the folders of my computer. These are just the ones I have in digital format, because I created them using the computer.

I almost didn’t post these, but I decided that I would open up this question and ask what you guys feel when you see this art. What about these moves you? Do you have negative reactions to them? Why? Do they move you at all? What about other art featuring crying eyes?

Bacchus and Ariadne by A. Turchi

Do you ever stop to really let a piece of art move you? Am I the only one that just walks on by, without waiting for the story that the art has to tell me? What if we paid attention to people’s art? What sorts of differences could we make as a community if we really observed, instead of just trying to keep up with the unrealistic pace society tries to set on us?

Let’s discuss this piece, Bacchus and Ariadne. What do you see?

A Slap in the Face (continued)

Francois Boucher, The Fountain of Love 1748

Jan Steen - Courting Couple || this is probably one of his early pieces, its oil on panel. It is commonly referred to as "Merry Couple".

Both of these images strike a chord with me. I found them while I was browsing through Baroque art on the internet, and I immediately became drawn to them only to look away and purposefully avoid them. I felt irritated by the images, even jealous, but not by the skill of the artist or the style like I normally would. It was the subject matter that really got to me. Why are both of the couples in these pieces so unfairly happy? It is as though they do not have a care in the world, or like the world doesn’t even exist around them. I almost remember what that felt like. I almost remember, and that is part of why these images have such a strong effect on my emotions. The other reason is that I have not allowed myself to really be upset about a very difficult time in my life that I went through recently. I have forced myself to pretend that I am okay, that life goes on and I don’t have time to stop and cry, I smile so my Mom doesn’t worry; it has gotten so bad that I can’t even cry when I am alone anymore. This is not to say that when I am out and about and I am happy that I am faking it- oh no, I have had lots of wonderful, glorious, blissful moments where life manages to distract me from myself. It is the moments that I am alone, or hear a specific song on the radio, or see something that brings back a memory that I feel it.

There have been many moments lately that I have just waited for the tears to come, but they don’t. That is not normal for me at all. Instead I am left with this ache, this gnawing ache in my chest. I see these images and the emotions and feelings and pain only deepen, but I still don’t cry. I still don’t let it out. I just hold it in, pass on by, don’t let it phase me. You could say that I am afraid of letting myself down. I told myself I would never fall in love, but I did. I fell hard and fast, for the first time in my life envisioning some sort of romantic future for myself and another person. I saw myself sharing, compromising, loving. It was beautiful, and honest, but it wasn’t easy. There was a distance, and we had to fight to see each other. There was relational chaos between our loved ones around us. We both fought for so long, but in the end he gave up on us. I can’t say that I blame him, because I still am not sure that I was ever worth the trouble. I somehow hardened myself even worse than before I met him. I tell myself I never wanted love like that anyway.

Somewhere from seeing this art, reading the quote I posted in the first part of this, deciding to blog about my personal experiences with these two paintings and share a little bit of my life, I have finally found my tears again. I discovered how much I actually miss what we had, no matter how wrong or right it might be, and no matter how crazy people might think I am. I am not saying that I would ever go back, but I genuinely miss how things were and who I was before I felt so completely broken. I have no idea where to go from here, or how to fix it, or if I even can. I don’t even know if I want to. As much as I try to just “be an adult” about it, Mom is worried about me. She says I’ve changed. That is the scariest part.

The hardest part about all of this is that I almost saw it coming. I guess almost isn’t ever good enough.

Have you ever really wondered why you might not like a painting for a reason other than what it looks like? Have you ever felt this way about art? If you are willing to share your experiences with art and how viewing it and getting through all of your negative emotions can be therapeutic, or not therapeutic depending on your views and experiences, I welcome you to do that now. Have a virtual cookie and make yourself comfortable here. We can go deep, or we can stay in shallow waters- the choice is yours. I would really like to read your opinions though, if you wouldn’t mind posting.

Contemporary Art made for Humor

This is deviating a little bit from where I was at the other day, and I will be making myself revisit where I was, but I just couldn’t keep myself away from this either. I was wondering about modern art, and the art around us in the world today, and I thought that a lot of the art I see and like is humorous. I love to read comic strips, and who hasn’t seen one of those darn lolcats? I got to thinking about it, and I realized it related to my project very well because funny art definitely causes a physical reaction in art. It probably causes the most common physical reaction in art, or at least the most commonly recognized. It causes laughter! Stifled laughter, full-out laughter, chuckles, wide grins, blushing, choking, wide eyes, and probably other things are all reactions I have seen to funny artwork.

While I was looking through some “funny art” I stumbled across this image, which I cannot help but post.

This image made me laugh, of course, because I deleted my own Facebook for fear that I was too addicted. I have said that I went “cold turkey”. I also realized though that sometimes “funny art” is more like “propaganda”, and often it is negative. Why do we laugh at negative things so much? Is it really that funny when somebody is dissing someone or something else? How much art out there is art created for the sole purpose of ridiculing someone else publicly? Or an entire group publicly? I am sure we could find plenty of it, but it got me to thinking that maybe more of our personal biases come from the art we view growing up than we think. Many people like to ask the question “Do our personal biases effect how we view art?”

I believe that is a valid question. Another question I’d like to bring to the table is “Does the art we view effect our personal biases?” I’d certainly like to think so! But I guess I still have more learning to do, and more research.

Do you have any opinions or comments? I’d love the insight you have to give!

A Slap in the Face

Have you ever felt like art is “a slap in the face”? I have. Sometimes I feel such jealousy or fury at a piece of artwork, and it just gets under my skin. I don’t always know why, but sometimes I do. Sometimes I feel bitter about the subject or theme. Sometimes it is less of a slap in the face, and more of a sting. I see a piece of art that reminds me of somebody I miss, and I find myself trying so hard to hold back the tears. I am left trying to hold back the tears because the sting feels too real. I feel it in my eyes, my chest, and eventually it seems to pierce my heart and let all of my emotions out against my will. Sometimes that is good for me.

I am going to discuss more about this later, but right now I have to get ready for work. I feel like this is something that needs to be explored, particularly by me at this time in my life. This was brought on by a friend of mine saying this: “Art is meant to move us and if it brings about negative or even hostile or reactions it is still stirring up emotions within us.” I think that is a very valid point, and I’d like to spend some time exploring that.

Caravaggio, Chiaroscuro, Cameras, and … Craziness.

We talked about Caravaggio today in class and how he used a lighting technique called “Chiaroscuro” to make his painting more three dimensional. I think it relates to my theme and question of how art touches people, because it pulls you into the main focus of the image. You can’t help but feel what the “star” of the image is feeling. I fell in love with the idea, and I was immediately thinking about my camera and all of the buttons on it, with different lighting and poses. We had limited time, resources, and space but we ended up coming up with this last minute:

It is kinda funny, and we wouldn’t have been able to pull it off without the wonderful help of the “models” and the “lighting people” and the teacher, and all of the “willing assistants” who examined the painting in the book and arranged everyone. It was truly a class effort, and I swear I had the easiest job out of it all. All I had to do was frame the shot and push the button… I definitely used Photoshop because it didn’t end up being dramatic enough since we couldn’t make the room dark enough. I probably should have spent more time on it… hmm… I kinda like the little halo.

It’s kind of an “epic fail”, but at least we tried! And I also learned that if we really had the time, resources, and space available too us this group could make great painting reenactors. I think I am going to try using the Chiaroscuro effect in future photography/art endeavors because it really does have a way of pulling people in. I feel a photoshoot coming on. Don’t you just LOVE inspiration?

Contemplating Art

What does it really mean to contemplate something? I like words, and I know through reading from context that “contemplating” is a form of thinking/looking. I want to really do it justice though, so for the sake of my researching I am looking up the definition. This is what I have discovered according to dictionary.com:

–verb (used with object)

1. to look at or view with continued attention; observe or study thoughtfully: to contemplate the stars.

2. to consider thoroughly; think fully or deeply about: to contemplate a difficult problem.

3. to have as a purpose; intend.

4. to have in view as a future event: to contemplate buying a new car.

–verb (used without object)

5. to think studiously; meditate; consider deliberately.

With this knowledge how am I supposed to contemplate art? How does contemplating art connect to reacting physically to a piece of art? As a viewer I think that the first two definitions are most important, but as an artist I could use all of these definitions. Right now, as a student of Art History, I am going to focus more on the first two (as a viewer).

If I were to contemplate The Letter by Vermeer (1666 Oil on canvas) I would probably begin with the overall theme, or even the subject matter closest to me. At first I would be drawn to the two women, but in an effort I would contemplate the image piece by piece. I would see the papers in the front right hand corner and I would wonder if the woman played by ear, as if to somehow explain the tossed look of the papers and why they are not beside or in front of her. I would think that she used the sheet music as a learning tool, but probably quickly memorized the music since it does look used but she isn’t using it. I would see the curtain and I would think she was playing in solitude, or at least looking for peace while she played, before she was interrupted by what I would guess was “the help”.

I would notice the basket and wonder if the maid was doing laundry when she received the letter to pass on to the woman and just carried it wither her, placing it on the ground to talk to the more regal woman. I would wonder about the letter, and what it said. I am unsure of the content because the maid looks almost pleased, whereas the woman receiving the letter looks unsure or shocked in a less-than-pleased way. It could be a love letter, or a letter from a loved one saying it’s over. Something else I would notice is how casually they are both carrying themselves. Could it be possible that even though there is probably a contrast in status these two women are friends? Or perhaps the reason the maid looks so pleased is because she has something to rub into this other woman’s face, and the other woman is normally very ignorant. By seeing the shoes on the floor at the entryway to the door and the broom I would guess that this room was possibly cleaned not long before the well-dressed woman entered to play in it. She was either asked to remove her shoes, or did it by choice. Possibly. I would imagine that I would do a lot of interpreting while I contemplate, as you have seen, because I can’t seem to keep my mind from interpreting things around me.

After some time I would be left feeling like I am inside the painting, with a physical warmth in my body if it is a welcoming scene or a colder feeling if it is less welcoming. The more I would contemplate meanings, techniques, actions, and color in the paintings or other pieces of art the more I would feel it’s presence around me. Some works of art just seem to reach out and touch me, demanding their attention. This is a much more subtle way that I “feel” the art on me. It is almost like feeling with my eyes, as if I were to run barefoot across grass, knowing it is there, and feeling it’s life more with each step.

Random Thoughts and Random Digital Art Adventures

 

Bernini just has a way of making his sculptures come to life. I haven’t been able to keep my mind off of it for too long. I talk about it with just about every person I come into contact with. In this close-up of Portrait of Cardinal Scipione Borghese there are so many true-to-life details that if I examine it too closely my head almost bursts. I wonder what this sculpture would look like if a realism painter breathed their magic onto the surface, making it even more lifelike through realistic colors. These thoughts left an itch I couldn’t shake to mess around on Photoshop and see what I could do digitally. Eventually I scrapped the idea of trying to make it look like the sculpture was painted (at least realistically) and came up with a “modern digital rendition” of the portrait close-up. Yeah, I was inadvertently inspired by other art that is floating around… but I can’t quite place what. Probably pop art or something… I think that’s what it is. I just couldn’t sleep tonight until I did something, so here it is. I think Bernini’s is much better… I guess I still have a long way to go before I breathe “life” into my art. Maybe I’m comparing mangoes and apples here too though.

 

That “Wow!” Moment: Embarking On A Journey

I believe that everyone who has seen art, and really looked at it, has had at least one “Wow!” moment. If I am wrong and you find yourself reading this saying “She’s wrong, because I haven’t,” please let me know. After you let me know that you haven’t had this “Wow!” moment I will be happy to share information on where you can find breathtaking and touching works of art.

I want to explore art on a deeper level and figure out why we find ourselves having physical reactions to certain pieces of art. This all stems from my question, “What causes art to touch us?” Why does one person look at a painting and feel goosebumps raising on their arms when another person just walks on by it without feeling a thing? How does art seem to grab us, pull us in, and leave our skin tingling without even coming into contact with us? What sort of power does art hold over us as individuals, and also as groups? What sort of power does that give us, if we learn how to use it?

Where does the magic happen? Does it happen in the artist’s mind? Does it happen as early as the sketching or planning stages? Is it possible that the artist reaches out to us in such a way while creating the art that it gives the art itself a sense of longing to “touch” people? Is it the amount of work, detail, and technique that gives us a sense of reality causing us to feel “touched”? What about emotional pieces or abstract pieces? What about pieces that lack technique but have a very strong meaning or are very honest? Do those pieces “touch” us? What does it mean to be “touched” by art anyway? Can you be negatively “touched” by a piece of art?

Does the sensation happen in our mind? Do we see it and decide for ourselves what it is, and how it makes us feel, faster than we could try comprehending the original purpose? Do we let our own biases get in the way of the true meaning of the art? Is it somehow a magic combination of all the above questions that causes the art to give us goosebumps, chills, or wide eyes? If we could ask the artist ourselves why they created the painting, would we like it less or more if we knew the answer? I have a lot to learn, and a ready mind and heart. This is not going to be something with easy answers, and there likely will not be one solid answer. I will probably come up with many “answers,” or rather “ideas/opinions” as I would prefer to call them.

I am going to be uncovering theories and themes surrounding these thoughts and questions through various forms of study. I will be asking these questions, and I will be discussing these questions. I will reflect on these questions and create things based on certain themes. I will probably come up with more questions! I will compare what I am learning about incredible pieces of art between Baroque and Modern Times to these ideas and curiosities. I will also be likely to compare commissioned works with non-commissioned works. If I can get my hands on some people willing to be interviewed for a video I would love to “document” some interviews in a “film”! Hopefully I can work something like that out, because it would be neat to have a “documentary” sort of thing about these ideas that I worked on.

It would make me very happy if you would actively join me in my learning! Please comment, share your own ideas and opinions (even if especially if they are different from my own, I love a good “eye opener”), and allow yourself to absorb the art that is around you.

I included several images of a concept sketch I was working on several months ago because I wanted to get your opinions about one of my questions. Do you think it is possible that the art begins to develop the way it is going to touch people even in it’s beginning stages? Does it grow as it begins to take shape? Even if it is not my own sketch, but other early stages of art (including your own), do you ever feel something from an “unfinished” piece of art? Sometimes I just “feel” where it’s going, because something touches me deeply in a way that is difficult for me to explain.

Thank you so much for reading & wish me luck on my journey,
Heather

Collage

Yay! This group was fun to work with. Thanks Eric and Aletha for making this collage with me.

One of the amazing things we did in class to help “reinforce” what we were learning about Baroque art was make a collage that represents Baroque style. It was really amazing to work with a group and learn what each other thought Baroque was. We determined in our group that if something was Baroque it made you go “Wow!” or “I wonder how they did that,” and of course it was dramatic. Always drama! There are words mixed in for good measure; I like words.