Post 5: Industrialisation

1. What and when was the Industrial Revolution?

The Industrial Revolution was a period in Europe's history where the discovery of rock, minerals and other materials conjured massive change in manufactural industries. The invention of machinery and enginery meant that the industries could produce development more efficiently and more importantly, faster. This changed the way people lived and has continually brought change to the world ever since. It started in the late 18th century in Britain and near European countries before spreading to the western region of Europe. 

Both paintings featured on this blog, that are from the early 1900s were painted by Modernist painters from the group called 'Futurists'. The Futurists celebrated the machine, and objects in motion. Their primary objective was to depict movement, which they saw as symbolic of their commitment to the dynamic forward thrust of the 20th century.

2. Research both Modernist paintings in order to comment on the subject matter, form and style used to celebrate the machine and motion in each painting. 

'The City Rises' by Umberto Boccioni, 1910.


The main subject matter seen in this work are the horses, the contruction workers, and the construction site in the background. The horses look distressed and in motion as if they are afraid or being startled, and its like the men are trying to do their best to get the horses under control. The style of the painting and palette reflects motion and movement. The quick, somewhat messy and abstract brushwork with the blurring methods help to portray the movement and the fast paced action and development happening around them.


'Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash' by Giacomo Balla, 1912.


In this work by Balla, the subject matter is alot simpler, consisting of only a woman walking her dog through some sort of undetailed terrain. I would have suggested that they are walking relatively fast as of the blurring of the feet. Both the dog and the owner have their feet blurred with repetitions of them in a motion line to show movement. Also the brushwork on the terrain which could very well be a street or just some dirt, creates a blur which also portrays motion, helping show that the subjects are moving at a fast pace. One idea I could see happening would be the low angle of vision, this view makes you feel smaller. This could link to the industrial revolution and how everything is developing at such a fast pace, a small single being such as myself could never have any impact on changing it from taking over everything.

3. Research Cao Fei's RMB City (2007-9)  in order to comment on this work in more depth.

RMB City is a virtual city that Cao Fei created using distinctive imagery from a wide range of Chinas characteristics. It reflects the fluidity of a world in which cultures have mixed and diverged in rapid evolution. The 3D city, named after chinese money, shows a preserve view of Beijing, a blend of communism, socialism and capitalism. She has used images such as a giant shopping cart, filled with skyscrapers and religious moments which is floating in the sea. Candy striped smoke stacks, suggesting the continuous industrial production which is Beijing. There are ships moving in and out of the port which relates directly back to Tianjin Xingang Ports in Beijing. She has also used the famous Tiananmen Square except turning it into a big swimming pool. The reason for her design decisions is because she wanted to create something that responds directly to China's rapid urbanization and the pace of social and economic development.


4. RMB City is described as a utopia/dystopia. Comment on what these terms mean, and how they can be applied to the work.
Utopia refers to paradise alike, or an idealized place or society. Dystopia refers to the complete opposite, meaning an unwanted society or an imaginary place in which the condition of life is extremely bad. I suppose they could both relate to the work in the way that China used to be this 'Utopia' a place of paradise, where everything was nice and perfect. And now it has resulting or heading for the opposide end which is 'Dystopia'. The two are sort of represented in the work as the bright and lively colour representing the Utopia that used to be and the context or everything else showing the Dystopia that the place is now. 


5. Comment on the similarites that you can see in the Modernist paintings and the contemporary digital work that has emerged. 
The main similarity that is present in the three works below is the use of the world they are living in as an idea. They are all in a way, celebrating industrialism or criticizing the effect that it has had on the world we are living in. Another similarity that is evident is the idea of motion or movement. This is clear in Fei's work with the smoke coming out of the pipes, the boats coming in and out of the ports, and also the cars moving to and from. There is evidence of motion and speed in the other works from the use of painting techniques such as the blurriness surrounding the dog. 

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/287086/Industrial-Revolution

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/industrial-revolution.asp#axzz1w8hZQKnE

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU0906/S00212.htm

http://www.vimeo.com/4272260

Post 4: Landscape and the Sublime

1. Define the Enlightenment.
The Age of the Enlightenment was a shift in thinking which took place in the 18th century in Western Europe. The philosophical movement focused on looking at the world in a more natural aspect without as much influence from views such as religion and politics. It also had more focus on human reasoning encouraging people to think 'scientifically'.


2. Define the Sublime.

The sublime is an aesthetic concept which originated from ancient Greece, it played an important part in 18th century writings about art. It held a category in aesthetic concepts, in association with the ideas of awe and vastness, which was distinct from the 'beautiful' and the picturesque. Ian Chilvers wrote: "Longinus described the immensity of objects in the natural world, stars, mountains, the ocean, in terms of the Sublime, and from the literary sphere the term was extended to a wider range of aesthetic reactions, in particular the new sensibility for the wild, awe-inspiring, and stupendous aspects of natural scenery." The Oxford Dictionary of Art, 2004. 

3. Explain how the 'Sublime' came out of the Enlightenment.

The main push that resulted in the Sublime emerging from the Age of the Enlightenment was the study of the natural world. People, in the time (18th century), were focusing more on how the world was, naturally, in their own eyes, pushing aside the influences coming from their religious beliefs. 

4. Discuss the subject matter, and aesthetics of Misrach's work, identifying the Sublime.

When looking at Misrach's work, the idea of openess and space is often present. His subject matter is most commonly focused on showing landscapes, using simplistic views to communicate different ideas and concepts. His main choice of matter is stretched land, whether it be sand, dirt, road, water etc always including fair amounts of sky to balance his images. He also commonly includes a small amount of extra features such as mountains in the background, trees, tyre tracks, a building etc. His post processing with his colours and levels is used in a unique way to give his images a surrealist feel making them look more mysterious and magical.

"Misrach uses the lush desert palette to paint an elegant picture of the strangeness and upset balance of human activity in an alien landscape." CAtherine Edelman Gallery

Misrach uses his skills and production in a way to create beauty which relates to the sublime. He captures the sublime of nature, with whichever scene he is working with. Whether it be the beauty of the natural world he is working with, the mountainous landscapes or seascapes, showing the wonderful outcomes of nature. Or if he is working with the terrible scenes that nature has conjured up such as hurricanes. 

5. Add 2 of Misrach's images.

Monolake 2, California. 1999

Wood Scrap, 1990

6. Describe how Misrach's work makes you feel. How does it appeal to your imagination?

When viewing Misrach's work it makes me feel calm, it gives me a relaxed feeling because of all the balanced, calm colours that aren't screaming in your face. Whenever he is using cooler depressing colours they are always dulled to help give the image more positive energy. Alot of his works have a bit of a paradise feeling about them, as if they are showing the untouched wilderness of the world which to me is where I would like to stumble across. In my imagination there always seems to be a surreal feeling when I look at his landscape works. Its as if this is the place where an alien ship is supposed to come and land, or as if it is a landscape of a foreign world. This is manly due to the big open spaces he shows but this definately helps it his work look more magical. 

7. Identify some other artists or designers that work with ideas around the Sublime, from the Enlightenment era as well as contemporary artists.

Giorgione, Ai Weiwei, Andreas Gursky, Claude Monet, Henri Rousseau. 

8. Add a Sublime image of your choice to your blog.

Niagara Falls, Andreas Gursky, 1989.

9. Reference your sources.

http://europeanhistory.about.com/od/referenceencyclopedia/g/glenlightenment.htm
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/1700-1800-Age-of-Enlightenment.html
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Sublimity.aspx#3
http://www.edelmangallery.com/

Post 3: Ron Mueck's Sculpture and Humanism

1. Mueck's sculpture is described as 'hyper-real'. Define the meaning of this term and explain how it is evident in his work.

The term hyper-real, or hyper realism, refers to visual art which results in convincing illusions of reality based upon photographic images/real life. The definition from thefreedictonary.com and other dictionary sites is: involving or characterized by particularly realistic graphic representation/creating a hyper reality.  

In Mueck’s work, hyper realism is evident. The sculptures of people that he has recreated are extremely detailed and have amazing attention to detail in each area resulting in a highly realistic look. This detail is best seen in the wrinkles, skin lines/curves and folds, and especially in the facial areas. The main, if only fact that departs his work from realism is the sizes of his works. They are either much larger, or much smaller than what they should be if they were real. 

2. Mueck says he is not interested in making life size sculpture. Find out why he is more interested in working with the scale of the figure which is not life size, and mention 2 works which use scale that is either larger or smaller than life.

The main unrealistic fact about Mueck’s works is that they are of unrealistic size. When asked he was quoted saying “I never made life-size figures because it never seemed to be interesting. We meet life-size people every day.” When talking about the size he was also quoted saying “It makes you take notice in a way that you wouldn’t do with something that is just normal.” This means he is more interested in changing the way you look at normal things in life, examples of this are shown in the following images.  

‘Untitled (Big Man) 2000.’ This work of Mueck’s is just over two meters tall, much bigger than it would be if it was to a realistic scale. It is of a big, overweight man sitting in a corner. The main details that are seen when viewing the work is in the feet and toes where there is extreme attention to detail with the wrinkles, creases, toenails etc. If the scale of this work was realistic, this view would have been lost and the detail unexplored.  

‘Two Women, 2005’ This work is about 85cm tall, much smaller than it would be if was in realistic scale. The sculpture is of two older women standing, sort of leaning or hunching over as old people do. They both have the usual old peoples, unhappy with the world/skeptical of everything around them expression on there faces. The smaller scale makes you interpret the work as more of a description, making it easier to explore the women as a description of women then just people.  

3. Define Renaissance Humanism , and identify which aspects of Humanism can be seen in Mueck's work.

Renaissance Humanism was a cultural movement, born from around the 14th- 15th century. It was inspired by classical texts from the ancient Greeks and Romans, offering a different view on life. Renaissance Humanism puts aside religious beliefs and focuses on humans and there values/achievements. Some aspects of this movement can be identified when looking into Mueck’s work. When Mueck’s sculptures people, the realistic details he focuses on portrays the subjects as human beings, however imperfect or unbeautiful they are. He  doesn’t try and show them as something else such as a super human, or a god, or anything else they aren’t. He includes everything including the extreme emotions/facial expressions being shown, and details that you wouldn’t normally look for/ask to see. 

4. Research and discuss one of Mueck's sculptures that you might find challenging or exciting to experience in an art gallery. Describe the work

‘In Bed, 2005’ This work of Mueck’s is massive, about 6.5 meters long, 4 meters wide and about 1.5 meters high. It is of a woman, lying in bed with her head resting on a pillow and her knees up. The woman has her hands out of the bed with one covering her mouth. I reckon this piece would be exciting to experience in real life because of the size. In the picture shown you can see a girl sitting on a chair next to the piece which gives you an idea of how big it really is. I would also love to experience the emotions the girl is expressing as she lies there. Her facial expressions make her look worried, as if a week ago she got the news that she has cancer and is just sitting there, waiting to die. 

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/ron_mueck/ 

http://sunseven.hubpages.com/hub/Awesome_Sculptures_Of_Ron_Mueck

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperreality_(art)

http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag03/jul_aug03/mueck/mueck.shtml