Zack Bornstein - Self Portrain

I like this photographic self portrait, because it plays on the usual motif of a reflective surface for self portraits. Many self portraits use mirrors and other self reflective surfaces, and I think this piece plays on this by using an unconventional type of "mirror" that displays himself and conveys both the surroundings of his environment and the discourse of his photography.

Gillian - Self Portrait

These are self-portraits by a Canadian photographer named Jon Edwards; he's only 18 ! He does a lot of work with double-exposures and experimental processing (cross-processing and boiling Polaroids, etc) & he ends up as the subject matter in a lot of his photography.

Samantha Carter- Self Portrait!!

This was just extremely interesting actually. So, the "I Want You" army posters, are all self portraits, of a guy named James Montgomery... which blew me away. Take a look at the resemblance. I'm thinking this might be something like what I want to do for my self portrait. I'm intrigued by the idea of using yourself as an icon. Worked well I suppose. This poster was used during WW1 and again in WW2. 

Emily - Self Portrait

I chose to post severl of Frida Kalho's self portraits. I have always found them intriguing for how she encorporates her body physcal appearance into her art and shapes it to crate the tone and meaning of each piece. Perhaps because she suffered fom health problems, her self portraits often have very organic qualities. I find it hard to articulate, but something about they way she portrays herself in her art is very unique and shocking.

Kat -- Chuck Close Self Portraits

Top: Big Self Portrait 1967-8.

Bottom: Self Portrait 2002.

Two wildly different approaches to the genre by the same artist. Close began as a photorealist painter, creating hand-painted works that are virtually indistinguishable from photography. The work on the left shows the artist as a young man, hip and accomplished. His later work is more abstract, breaking the details of the human face into smaller segments. In the later painting, Close depicts himself in an extreme close up, his face more contemplative.

Henry - Caravaggio's Self Portrait

I like this self-portrait because Caravaggio portrays himself as the beheaded Medusa on a shield. In Greek legend, anyone who looked directly into the eyes of Medusa would turn into stone. Perseus put a mirror on his shield so that he could see her indirectly, and he defeated her by slicing her head off. Afterwards, Perseus put the head on a shield and used it as a weapon to turn his own enemies into stone.

Unlike most self portraits where the subject's expression looks as if it could be held for a long time, Caravaggio captures (and freezes) an expression which could only be held for a quick second in reality. I think it would be funny to watch an artist paint himself while while holding an expression as jarring as this one. I also can't imagine how he could do this without his jaw cramping. He must have used two mirrors so that he could draw his eyes not looking directly at himself.

 

I believe that by associating himself with Medusa, Caravaggio's portrait sends a message to his viewers, perhaps something along the lines of: "I am an artist. Whoever I draw will be captured and frozen in time." This is essentially the definition of what a portrait is - an image that captures some aspect of the person. Perhaps Caravaggio was into self-mutilation.

Olivia - Self Portrait

I chose this self portrait by Eisuke Sato, an undergraduate at the University of Washington, because it struck me as very unusual.  The emotion is unclear, but there is a definite tension between silliness and frustration.  My favorite aspect is the strong energy of this painting.  He is squishing his face very enthusiastically.

Kevin: Homeless Signs as Artwork (open post)

Fact: art is everywhere.

I like finding art where I least expect it. By placing a series of homeless alongside one another it becomes art. Not only are the signs a good laugh, but the experience of being asked for some spare change by a homeless person walking down the street is almost universal, which makes the art very accessible and easy to relate to. This collection of signs is a good balance between comedy and politics. Often times when artwork is too political it can be unpleasant or off putting, but by striking that balance the artist can still address the social reality of homeless without offending the viewer, which makes the message stick.

Here's a link to more homeless signs:

http://thechive.com/2009/01/collection-of-funny-original-homeless-cardboard-signs/

Samantha Carter- The value of art

Just food for thought... but maybe I will also add a picture at the end of the blog for visual stimulation. I was just thinking again about our question for this semester "What is art?", and realized that the answer is almost inevitably a bit vague. I wonder as a consequence, what affect this ambiguous definition has on the value society places on art. Given our history with the cold war in particular, the United States has since put an increasing value on the sciences and maths, or the definite. Yet at the same time, many of the propaganda that was used during that time is now hailed as art? Just something I've been rolling around in my head... 

Potential to be continued. 

Here's a picture for visual stimulation. The first picture that comes up when you google image "Art". :-)

Kat -- Architecture

I like how architecture can take on different meanings over time. We get used to things and what once annoyed us becomes not only accepted, but loved. Architecture has a weird way of working its way into our hearts. When it was first constructed, the Eiffel Tower was considered an eyesore. Now, it is the symbol of Paris. But most of all I like how the meaning of a piece of architecture can change for an individual. I used to think of the Eiffel Tower as just a symbol of Paris--but since seeing it in person, I remember it as a specific place and can only think of it in the context of my personal experience there.

Neel Odedara - Architecture

Though I did not originally know about Daniel Libeskind, I read a bit about him and he seems like an incredible figure. Libeskind actually didn't complete his first building until the age of 52, and he designed Berlin's Jewish Museum, the city's most visited museum. He's also been charged with designing the memorial at Ground Zero, which must be an incredibly honorable and demanding project. Though pressure is nothing new to Libeskind, who mentioned that unlike other artists, an architect's artist work must always uplift and inspire. "But as an architect, you always have to have an optimistic view, because you're always building something for a better world. Whenever you construct something, the very notion of constructing is about a faith that the world can be a better world." This makes me think about the incredible task of designing a piece of art that must represent an entire population, that must become an integral part of its environment. Libeskind's views make me think of the Eiffel Tower, which was originally only drew contempt from Parisians but now is a shining symbol of their culture and way of life. In this way, a great piece of architecture can become an icon for a city and a nation, and truly exemplifies the power art can have over people.

Brielle - Open Post

These are two images from an exhibit at the ICP entitled "Weird Beauty: Fashion Photography Now." The exhibit presented a lot of innovative recent fashion photographs and really showed how fashion photography has really become its own category of art - some of the photos were incredibly good and extremley moving (I wanted to post them here, but the images aren't posted here...go see the exhibit if you can...it's up until March) The photos really changed the way I view fashion photography - I definitely feel that the photos showcased how art, sexuality, narrative, digital media, and youth culture have influenced the fashion industry. To me these photos weren't selling clothes, makeup, or accessories, they were telling very strong stories.

Allison Wang-Open Blog
I chose this drawing because I have always been a fan of M.C. Escher's work and found this drawing to be particularly eye catching. I love how he is able to portray the distortion that arises with the glass cubes. He also has an intricate style of drawing space.

Neel Odedara - Open Blog Assignment

I had to stare at this first image for a little while before I understood what made it unique. It was only after looking at other images by this artist that I realized exactly what the artist had done, and I was amazed. This is just another cool example of playing with perception to create art. By adjusting the position/form of his hand, and by adding a little bit of paint to highlight the already existing texture of his hand, the artist was able to create an elephant.

Sofia - Open Post

This is the Big Rig Jig, by Mike Ross. I though it was really cool because it reminded me of the way that artists can take objects we see every day and transform them into something that surprises the viewer. It is visually pleasing - I like the lines and shapes that are created - and the content makes it very unusual. It also made me think about the way that some artists have to be really good at physics...

Nic Mooney -- Giorgio de Chirico

I find the work of surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico (1888-1978) to be quite captivating. I find that they so beautifully capture mood and size, with the barren landscapes, severe shadows, and blank, massive buildings. The tiny people that sometimes populate the scenes further convey the immenseness of his landscapes, which seem to exist in some strange dream world, a hybrid of the industrial and the ancient.

Gillian - PEG MIRROR!

This is Daniel Rozin's Peg Mirror. It is made of 650 wooden dowels and 650 little motors and a camera. It is INTERACTIVE, so when you stand in front of the mirror, the camera sees you and the dowels (all cut on an angle) shift and rotate and shimmer until they are forming your shape. The website has a movie of it which displays just how sweet this is.

Zachary Bornstein - Open Post

The artist Julian Beever draws incredible distorted drawings on sidewalks that viewed from a particular angle look very 3 Dimensional. These drawings use perspective and distortion to create these effects, however, if you look at them from a different angle they look long and warped. By understanding perspective, Julian has created incredibly powerful illusions. He takes advantage of our brains inherent assumptions and works against them. This is art that takes "science" (not exactly) and uses it to create unlikely and very effective pieces.

Olivia - Open Blog

So this is somewhat ridiculous...

A 25-year-old School of Visual Arts in NY graduate named Justin Gignac sells garbage.  He finds trash on the street and puts it in a sealed plastic container, then signs, numbers, and dates each container.  They sell for $50.  He also sells t-shirts that say "Thank you for Littering".  

http://www.nycgarbage.com/home.html

On the home page, he states "Just get one now before they clean up this city".  I'm not sure if people actually buy these things, but if they do, this guy is brilliant.

Caroline: Open Post

This art project by french photographer JR is in Kibera, Kenya and consists of 2000 square meters of rooftops and train cars covered in large black and white photographs of local women in Kibera, one of the poorest slums in Africa. The photographs are made of water resistant material that will help protect the houses. The picture above shows how the eyes on the train cars line up with the noses and mouths below it at certain times of day. The enormous photographs/rooftops can be seen from Google Earth. I find the actual images - these enormous faces - a little creepy, but I really love the idea. The art itself is physically helping the community and calling attention to a truly impoverished area of the world. I also love that the image are of the local women - their silly faces are beautiful and I'm sure they all lead very hard lives. I think art acheives a lot: visual intrigue, social consciousness and and an effort for global awareness. Here's a link to more pictures.

Julio- Open Post

I'm currently taking contemporary art, and a couple of classes ago we got into work by Robert Rauschenberg. The image I posted is an erased de Kooning drawing done in 1953. So what Rauschenberg did was get one of de Koonings drawings and he spent countless hours (I think the professor said 50 but I'm not too sure), using many erasers trying to erase the image. Apparently this was his way of reacting to and against abstract expressionist. I personally do not like this and I'm not too sure about calling it "art". Nonetheless, I think it is interesting and should be brought up. Is erasing what is already art a form of art?

Kaleigh McKinney- Open post

This past week in Providence there was a garden show at the event center. The arrangements were incredible and it made me see flowers as a form of art. The way people combined the flowers and plants with other objects made them very original pieces of art work. Therefore for this weeks open post I chose to do a floral arrangement titled "Pole Dancing."

Hannah M: Free Post - Sharing and NUA

While drawing this weekend at RISD, I had numerous kids come up to peak at what I was drawing. Working in the Buddah Room, a little boy walked in, saw me, and came right over to peer at my work. As someone new to drawing, I'm learning a lot but still don't feel confident about my work. Instead of apologizing for my skills, I asked the boy "does it look like him?" and he enthusiastically answered yes. It was a wonderfully little moement!

It got me thinking about the value of sharing art and our work, and what happens when a piece of work becomes public. How does it increase the value of a piece to share it, and what can it do to those who witness it?

This lead me to my choice for the open blog post - a 2005 portrait of students from New Urban Arts, an arts mentoring program for Providence public high school kids. I got involved my senior year of high school doing photo, and feel in love with this amazing organization that provides free art supplies, guidance, and so many resources to help high schoolers develop their own creative practices. This photo series, an annual tradition, hung on the wall the whole year I was there. They have made new ones each year since (http://www.flickr.com/photos/newurbanarts/sets/).
In this case, I hope to share this piece of art to tell all of you to this wonderful organization and to learn about the great work they are doing.
Check them out at: http://newurbanarts.org/index.html

Emily - Coit Tower Murals

Coit Tower was built on Telegraph Hill and the walls of its first floor are covered with Diego Rivera-inspired murals, painted in 1933. These frescoes were painted by 26 different artists and assistants who mainly were students and faculty of the California School of Fine Arts. If you search online you can find more photos of these murals and can see more of the political and other statements the artists incorporated into their work.

Aubrey Fitzpatrick: Free Post

I came across this when I was doing research for another class.  The link is to Jenny Holzer's project titled "For the City," which is light projections of poetry and classified documents on landmark New York City buildings.  The documents are those United States government documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.  Jenny claims she shows "what I can with words in light and motion in a chosen place, and when I envelop the time needed, the space around, the noise, smells, the people looking at one another and everything before them, I have given what I know."  I love the amount of people this affects.  I love how in your face it is.

http://www.creativetime.org/programs/archive/2005/holzer/index1.html

Corlis - Open Post

So I found this art after googling "recycled art," and I loovvee it. What appears to be a heap of garbage casts a shadow, which remarkably resembles people and a motorcylce. I like how the cool parts of these pieces are all hidden, and only found when you cast light upon them and the shadows appear. How cool!

Olivia - 1500-1650 Art

I chose "Children's Games" by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.  This painting, referred to as the "encyclopedia of Flemish children's games" depicts more than 250 children playing more than 84 games.  I chose this painting because it seemed like children were rarely used as subjects in art during this period.  Children's Games was painted in 1559 with oil on wood.

Aubrey Fitzpatrick 16thC

This is an Albrecht Durer engraving created in 1513.  It is an engraving of St. Peter and St. John healing the Lame man at the Gate of the Temple.   I chose it because when I looked at it, I fell in love with the faces.  The expression on them captures their emotions so well.  The attention to detail also in the piece and the realistic nature of their bodies and clothing impressed me.  I also loves that there looked like there was so much going on.  Like you could break the piece down into sections and still probably have a reaction about each one.

Brielle - 16th Century Art

This is a photo of the engraving done by Albrecht DÜRER entitled Apollo and Diana I chose this image because I was struck by how complex and intricate the modeling of the flesh is (it's difficult to see from this photo, but the skin is incredibly detailed and looks real.) The engraving is very similar
to the engraving by Jacopo de Barbari (right). I prefer the engraving by Durer because I think the structure of the bodies is much stronger.