Painting Of The Day 5/5/2011

                                                                             Jackson Pollock, Orange Head,1938-1942


Before Pollock's Drip Paintings became well known his previous works consisted of abstract art. This one in particular pertained to him when he was around the age of 26 when he was suffering from psychological breakdowns from his alcoholic binges that he would partake in. In this piece he transferred his emotions, feelings, and visions onto the canvas and made that the focal point of his art. 


Photo Courtesy Of The National Gallery


Quote Of The Day: “The modern artist…is working and expressing an inner world – in other words – expressing the energy, the motion, and other inner forces.” (Jackson Pollock)

Place Of The Day 5/4/2011

                                                                                              Rothko Chapel (1971)

Was Built by John and Dominique Menil as place of meditation and a sanctuary. What makes this chapel unique is that the interior is lined and decorated with Mark Rothko's paintings. Walls contain Rothko's triptychs and some walls contain single paintings on canvas. Most of those paintings done were in the style of his black paintings which incorporated texture and hue effects. The black paintings were designed to give a mediative and relaxed effect to those who came to worship and pray. 

                                    Inside The Rothko Chapel Paintings Like The Ones Above Fill The Interior Walls

Pictures Courtesy of Rothkochapel.org

Painting of The Day 5/4/2011

                                                                Mark Rothko, Untitled,1948


This Piece exhibits Rothko's interest in the simpleness of pantings in order to express a complex thought. The painting also illustrates Rothko's tendency for the big shapes and large canvases to show what is obvious. The Flat forms that are created take away from any illusion and show what is actually there. 


Picture Courtesy of The  National Gallery

My Initial Naive Thoughts On Abstract Expressiont Artwork

Before AP Art History had even begun and before i started to study artists like De Kooning, Pollock, and Rotho, what came to my mind when i saw their work at first was "How is this considered art?" With paint splattered on a canvas with pollock using just ordinary household paint, Rothko's blurred rectangular blocks of color, and De Kooning's woman which looks very sloopily done, everyone's first thought is this is not traditional art as we know it, this is an atroscity. After doing much research and have studied the artists listed above you realize there is a real talent and intellect behind the works. This paintings allowed for artists to express their emotions freely and independently. It allowed for the viewer of the artwork to connect with the piece itself as Rothko had wanted. These artists brought to our attention what nature is and what occurs in it. What we take away from such abstract expressionists are a break from tradition and the old masters and the establishment of a new art form that allows for free expression and for the viewer to have a spirtual and mystical connection with the artwork.


Quote of the Day:

"The attitude that nature is chaotic and that the artist puts order into it is a very absurd point of view, I think. All that we can hope for is to put some order into ourselves." Willem De Kooning

Information On The Two Kandinsky Paintings Below

   On White II" (Kandinsky 1923): Kandinsky's idea was to use color in a highly theoretical and mathematical way by associating tone of colors with volume. Kandinsky associated his painting with that of music, the color on the pallet was like like music in harmony the tone of color was like a tone of music and saturation of paint was linked with the volume and pitch of the music. He is quoted as saying, " Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul. 




Composition X,. (Kandinsky 1939): He uses small squares of colours and the coloured bands seem to stand out against the black background. The star' fragments and pastel tones cover the large maroon mass, which seems to float in the upper left corner of the canvas. He wanted the forms composed on the canvas to resonate with the observer of the paintings own mind and soul. 


Source: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/kandinsky/

Two Paintings by Wassily Kandinsky Which I am Basing My Work Off

                                                                 On White II" (Kandinsky 1923)

                                                               Composition X, painted during WWII. (Kandinsky 1939)

A Little Information on the Two Malevich Paintings Below

Suprematist Composition: The painting represents a constellation of geometry and color in space with rigidity. The painting holds cultural and historical importance during a time of war and uproar. Shapes and colors are assembled and plotted systematically throughout the canvas. Malevich is once quoted as saying, “Color and texture in painting are ends in themselves.”


Black Square: Was the turning point in Russian Avant Garde. Malevich said that Suprematist art was divided into three stages which corresponded with the three squares he painted which were red, white, and black. The square was painted accurately and uniformly using the same brush stroke throughout. These square paintings were a break and separation from artwork that had preceded his own.