Self portrait project

                           Selfish Portrait

                          Picture

                     
                          Ramon Mati Alsina, Self portrait  1875
                          MNAC  Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya
                         

                           Paul Cezanne, Self Portrait with felt hat  1890
                           Bridgestone Museum of Art Ishibashi




                          
          I  chose the three pieces for individual reasons, starting with the one you don't see, "Yawning"  by Joseph Ducreux 1783, (file picture was to big to load). A picture of a stout man dressed in a red suit, think British soldier  in revolutionary war, arms stretched in a yawn, a wonderful variation on a portrait.  
         Paul Cezanne's self portrait was telling, an unassuming old man in a non-descript suit with a gaze that asks 'what are you looking at'.
         The most inspiring was by Ramon Mati Alsina, the look, the eyes and the incredible detail of the face was inspirational although it made my try incredibly simplistic.

         Pencil was the easiest medium it allowed erasing.

         The challenges, attempting to draw. Trying to overcome.

         My representation was not what you would want to use for a missing persons sketch.

         I used lines to represent the face and attempted to use shade of light to give depth to the image.
         
         There was some enjoyment in the process and the final product, which was at least not completely horrible, but I need a lot more practice to be satisfied with any self portrait.
        

             
        
                  

Mod 13-14 Curator project

            For my curator project I chose to show a brief history of landscape paintings and scenes. Beginning with the Romans, which were some of the earliest to be found by internet search, landscape scenes were merely a backdrop, often for depictions of various gods.  East Asian landscape art ,done frequently on scrolls or silk, tended to represent the best scenes of nature not necessarily any particular view.  European landscapes, post roman to pre renaissance seemed to be realistic in nature, but still a backdrop for the figures of the story.  The renaissance artists altered the perception of what a landscape could be by putting a greater focus on the landscape itself and how we view nature. The Hudson School style of capturing the beauty of nature I found appealing and is well represented in American folk art.  Christina's World was my last selection and it seemed to be a bridge between the beauty of landscape art and the appeal of a greater meaning to a work of art.    

Mod 13

1)  I watched two of the three videos, one as unavailable for viewing. These videos were the required videos and so there was no discretion.

 2) The first video on "LowBrow" art of the west coast was interesting for I did not know that there was such a genre.  I was however familiar with the style and some of the images in fact my neighbor practices this style and I will have to ask him if he is aware of its origin. The main concept of that video was that art is what it is not just what some whom have studied declare art is.
     The second video's theme was how much effort is put forth by some curators to present the art that is I guess considered '"HighBrow"  in a cohesive fashion and display in for the general public to view and enjoy.  

 4)  It was a good idea for the west coast to revolt against the elitism of the established art culture as many artists had to do in the past , such as creating their own salons for displaying pieces not considered worthy by the established schools and curators.  I believe it is true that some art work that is considered prized now was rejected when it had been created. Some would I am sure love to have some of the monies that are now paid for their pieces.