Vija Clemins

Vija Clemins is a close second in pieces of work shown in the class. Her paintings look like photographs.  The paintings are spot on to the subject being painted.  I was so impressed that she puts so much time and effort into her works of art. Its inspiring and unfathomable to me. The amount of time she spends doing this kind of work is outrageous. I am very attracted to extreme detail and Vija is a perfect example of an extremly detailed artist.

Alison Watt

Alison Watt's work has impressed me the most. The detail and the way everything is perfectly blended is astonishing. Her pieces took my breath away. Her works are so calming and flowing. Alison makes the fabric look like its coming off the canvas. There is amazing portrayal of light and shading as well. The canvas's she used were enormous and she engulfed herself in her work for a year. The result was amazing. I cant imagine the concentration, effort, and dedication it must have taken her to complete these works. 

Bruce Nauman creates different types of artwork as shown. He experiments with different subjects and materials. His works are risky but make the viewer think.  He works with neon signs and creates figures and shapes that result in his artwork.  Some of his pieces are somewhat disturbing and others are somewhat comforting.  My personal favorite was his sculpture of the hands.

Judith Beheading Holofernes by Caravaggio

Disregarding how disturbing this image is the detail is incredible.  It looks like a photograph. the detail of cloth and the lighting on the faces is flawless. The colors also evoke a lot of emotion. It is a mix between beauty and gore.  One cant seem to know what to look at first, the scene the art portrays or the detail and perfection of the lighting, people, and the surroundings.

John Baldessari has a way with mixing photos with witty and creative solid images.  He plays with color, shapes, and other photos to create artwork that makes you think, laugh, and feel.  This piece of artwork is a great example of his photography mixed with a witty yet unsettling image.

Enter the Dragon: On the Vernacular of Beauty

"Beauty is not a thing" this was my favorite quote that Dave Hickey stated in his piece. He discussed how poetry is also considered beautiful and a form of art. He describes about what makes things beautiful in poetry about different subjects.

Jeff Koons

Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (Magenta)

Jeff Koons was born in York, Pennsylvania, 1955. He is mostly known for his sculptures. I found most of his work very interesting. The Balloon Dog was my favorite piece by Jeff Koons. His artwork seems to be out of the ordinary and be very bright. It captures the viewers attention to make them take a second glance at his work. It has a familiar look, yet it is made his own. When I looked through his different pieces they were very fun to look at and they were common items that were made his own style.  

Absinthe Paintings

Top: The Absinth Drinker 1901 Pablo Picasso Bottom: The Absinthe Drinker (1876) Edgar Degas

Absinthe paintings: Absinthe is an alcoholic drink that's banned in various countries. It is mostly pure alcohol and people can drink themselves to death by consuming it.
It was made famous due to the artists in Paris that painted it in their work and drank it themselves.  I think that the paintings potray depression in their facial expressions. The people in the artwork look well dressed and as if they are high class, yet they are unhappy. The paintings seem to show that money doesn't buy happiness and that the people are drinking their problems away.

                                                                

                                 

Francisco Goya y Lucientes

The image above is titled "Saturn Devouring His Son"

The artist  Francisco Goya y Lucientes was an artist that created paintings that were extremely controversial and harsh. All of his work was related by the similar theme of darkness. His work is very dark and has a mournful message throughout his paintings. Although they are disturbing to look at I can’t help but stare at his artwork. It captures the interest of viewers and forces them to contemplate on what is going on and the harsh reality of what it being portrayed.

Andy Warhol

Andy Warhol was an extremely influential artist of his time. his use of vibrant colors and subjects of every day, normal things  are extremely inspiring and interesting.

I find Robert Morris's work extremely disturbing but original. He manages to capture the helplessness and pain in the death of these animals. They seem pathetic and you cant help but be upset and feel sorry for them. The preserved shark was the most uncomfortable piece for me to see only because a shark is usually so powerful and majestic but as his artwork, its helpless, limp and dead, yet terrifying at the same time. His works of art truly make you think and feel. I believe this to be true because he uses species that once lived.

 Marcel Duchamp's "Fountain"

this piece was a very controversial piece of art. Whether Duchamp's reason for this was meaningless or extremely  emotional and filled with reason, this piece stirred up a lot of discussion and debate. He made the audience really think about what this urinal really meant. there are a lot of other controversial works Duchamp created. such as

Bicycle Wheel: