Contextual Influences in Art & Design: May 2013

Sunday 19 May 2013

Japonisme inspired Decorates

Japanese decorates and fine art goods began to show a large amount of works in the markets in Europe. Markets sold art which consisted of L’Empire Chinoise in Paris, these often meet at places for the artists and collectors of the era, these include artists who are; James Abbot McNeil Whistler, Eduoard Manet, Claude Monet and Edgar Degas. These people were really enjoying the great quality of the artists’ works, which the style was wolly, which was quite different from their usual style. In the year 1880s the Japanese craze were getting more recognized. In Europe and America things that were themes with Japanese, they were guaranted to be successful. People at that time wanted Japanese art at their homes,

the decorates were furniture, wallpaper, sculptures, porcelain, prints and textiles. Japanese designers used to use

useful books, such as ‘A Grammer of Japanese Ornament and Design. Developments were reflected in the influence of Japan. Manet used to design flattering forms, with the influence of Japanese prints. The movements of Japonisme are Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau. There were also book bindings and cover in the same theme, these reflected a Japanese interest in its style. There wasn’t only Victorian covers, they also recognized the full worth of the Japanese style. The assymetrical design was becoming very popular, also the imitations of the Japanese landscape style. Some known cover designers showed there influence in Japonisme.

Reference:

Publishers' Bindings Online. 2013. Publishers' Bindings Online. [ONLINE] Available at: http://bindings.lib.ua.edu/gallery/japonisme.html. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Japonisme inspired Cabinet

Japonisme Cabinet

Japonisme influenced the French, there is a highly important Japonisme ormolu, which was painted bronze, cloisonné enamel, silvered, gilt and copper galvanoplastie – mounted polissander and ebony encoignure cabinet-on-stand, which was done by the artists Christofle & Cie. The piece of furniture was put in Paris. On description of the cabinet, there is a three quarter faux-bambou superstructure, which is found in the top part, this part is holding up a shelf, but not touching, the two dragons that are climbing and joining are another two dragons to the angles, also there is the convex found cabinet which has frieze drawers in it, which on it it has a butterfly which is pulled over a framed cloisonné panel, in which it is depicting another butterfly and blossoming branches, this happening in opposition of a latticework ground, these are guarding each other by a more distant drawer, also there is a square in front which was put with a Fro dog mask and ring handle in opposition of an enameled ground, then, not touching, there is a door which in the middle it has a relief shaped panel which is showing a geisha wolf under a blossom and a bamboo and with vessels to the scene, this furniture has foliated hinges and looks, in which it is personally designed with a reverse and interior fitting with two shelves, there is also side panels which in the middle part there is framed cherry blossom branches, a Japanese type of flower, which is put in opposition to a latticework ground, which also has panelled sides, the base part has foliated-etched mount, the stand has a stiff-leaf frieze, in opposition there is a fretwork done in styled foliage, the legs are of leaf-form feet, which the under-piece looks like paper.

References:

Art Nouveau and Japonisme of Naturalistic Spoon. 2013. Art Nouveau and Japonisme of Naturalistic Spoon. [ONLINE] Available at: http://naturalisticspoon.com/Art_Nouveau_Japonisme.html. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Saturday 18 May 2013

The Great Wave of Kanagawa

A well-known painting from the Japonisme is The Great Wave of Kanagawa. The artist who painted The Great Wave of Kanagawa is Katsushika Hokusai. The material that this painting was made with is woodcut printing. Hokusai was born in the year 1760 and died in the year 1848.

Similar Work to The Great Wave

The subject is Mount Fuji. In the painting there is huge attention between the contrast of the waves and of the mountain. The characterized wave appears to tower the observer, whilst the little pyramid mountain which is called Mount Fuji just lays there in a distance. The little Pyramid Mountain which is called Mount Fuji is the focus of the composition in the painting. In the Great waves shown, in them there are also shown three boats full of Japanese sailors, which are also thought to be barges conveying fish from the southern Island of Edo. Hokusai, before he had done the Final piece of The Great Wave of Kanagawa, he had done similar works in which in the

end he had produced its final development, piece. In this work the waves look as if it is swallowing the whole boats. It is seen as really powerful image, the painting is truly beautiful, also showing are waves which look like waves that have white icy looking tips, in which menacingly curl down into points, which looks like scratching claws that look like they are ready to scratch and scoop the sailors out of the waves from the ocean.

References:

Katsushika Hokusai and Japanese Art, . 2013. Katsushika Hokusai and Japanese Art, . [ONLINE] Available at: http://andreas.com/hokusai.html. [Accessed 18 May 2013].
Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave at Kanagawa (from a Series of Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji) (JP1847) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2013. Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave at Kanagawa (from a Series of Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji) (JP1847) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/JP1847. [Accessed 18 May 2013]
A Brief History of Japanese Art Prints (also known as Ukiyo-e). 2013. A Brief History of Japanese Art Prints (also known as Ukiyo-e). [ONLINE] Available at: http://emptyeasel.com/2008/04/24/a-brief-history-of-japanese-art-prints-also-known-as-ukiyo-e/. [Accessed 18 May 2013].

Friday 17 May 2013

Japonisme influences on Vincent Van Gogh

Vincent Van Gogh, on Japonisme, he was mostly influenced on woodcuts. Japonisme caught Van Gogh's eyes in the year 1886, at the same time he got the attention of impressionism. Vincent Van Gogh also had a look at Ukiyo-e which is also a Japanese artist, he got to know about this artist because of his own brother, Theo. Van Gogh spent alot of time in the gallery studio admiring the Japonisme Art and style. Van Gogh got influenced by the flat vivid colours, and the bold designs. He was so in love with Ukiyo-e's work that he
started to collect his works. Vincent Van Gogh got inspired from the Artist Hiroshige, he got inspired from the prints; 'The Bridge in the Rain' and 'Flowering Plum Trees'. Van

Gogh painted another painting from 'The Courtesan,' which was as the same fashion as others. The Courtesan was inspired from another Japanese artist's work, who was Kesai Eisan. Although Van Gogh used to copy prints by other artists he made them fit with his type of art. The copied prints which Van Gogh had made were more brighter and both of the colours had more contrast shown.

References:

Japonisme, Japonaiserie, Japanese Influence on Van Gogh . 2013. Japonisme, Japonaiserie, Japanese Influence on Van Gogh . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.vangoghgallery.com/influences/japonisme.html. [Accessed 18 May 2013].

Japonisme

Europeans has showed interest in the Far Eastern art, the most interest was in ceramics, which was started to be known as an interest from the 16th century, by the Japanese art became to the surface from the year 1854, this happened because the United States and multiples of European countries made treaties which than had to force Japan to let the whole world see. Japan had heavy industry, not that much,so it used the platform of so much worldwide exhibitions in order to promote the talents and skills of the artist and craftsman. The Japanese than figures the imagination of the west. All other individuals included promoted Japanese Art, which include Samuel Bing who was born in the year of 1838 and died in the year 1905 in which he opened a shop of Japanese objects in Paris in the years of the 1880s, following was Vincent Van Gogh whe was born in the year 1853 and died in the year 1890, another artist is Toulouse Lautrec who was born in the year 1864 and died in the year 1901. Samuel Bing also published Le Japon Artistique. Moving to the years of the 1860s, 1870s and 1880s, a lot of Japanese Artists went to study the Western-style realism. Western artists were influenced by the Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, porcelain, textiles, lacyer and also including architecture, this concluded to the styleof the Japonisme. Some of the Western artists were contextual to the new freedom from imitative or also the photographicrepresentation, and these also opened up to new formats which include fan leaves, folding screens and narrow hanging-scrolls. This suggests new perspective views of vision and whole new different angles. The uses of bold, unshaped colour for the painting's compositions which encourage a whole new trend towards abstraction. Showing very strong diangonals, the silhouette, cropped close-up partial side views of the objects themselves, shown in the foreground and also showing a flexible approach to blanked out spaces which are suggested with fruitful new possibilities to multiple artists which include: Vincent Van Gogh, Edgar Degas who was born in the year 1834 and died in the year 1917, and also including another artist who is James McNeill Whistler who was born in the year 1834 and died in the year 1903.

References:

Degas and Japonisme | Barbaraanne's Hair Comb Blog. 2013. Degas and Japonisme | Barbaraanne's Hair Comb Blog. [ONLINE] Available at: http://barbaraanneshaircombblog.com/2009/10/07/degas-and-japonisme/. [Accessed 09 April 2013].
Japonisme | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2013. Japonisme | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jpon/hd_jpon.htm. [Accessed 09 April 2013].
British Museum - Japonisme . 2013. British Museum - Japonisme . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/j/japonisme.aspx. [Accessed 09 April 2013].

Exhibition visit: Jewellery from the Maltese Island

Jewellery

Date when visited the exhibition: 6th May, 2013

Name: Vanity, Profanity and Worship

The Exhibition was toured by Francesca Balzan and joining her is Lisa Attard, the person who checks if everything consisting the exhibition is going accordingly. Francesca Balzan and Lisa Attard will discuss the History of Jewellery in Malta and also discussing the pieces on display at the Exhibition.

Thursday 16 May 2013

Andy Warhol

The Artist Andy Warhol’s full name is Andrew Warhola, Warhol was born in the month of August on the 6^th in the year of 1928. He was born in Oakland, Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. His parents’ names are Ordej Warhola and Julia Warhola, his father used to work as a construction man and his mother used to work as an embroiderer. Their religion was devout Byzantine Catholics, in which as a whole family they used to go to church very often, in which by that they enabled a lot of their Slovakian culture and heritage, this was done whilst they were living in Pittsburgh in the Eastern area in a part of group. Andy Warhol when he was 8 years old he contracted St. Vitus’s Dance, its definition means a not occurring very often and casually fatal disease in which left Andy Warhol sick in bed for quite some time. Warhol’s mother was the first person ever to give Andy Warhol his first ever private drawing lesson. After that Andy Warhol gave his interest in Art, and so he decided to begin drawing for the childhood pastime. When he was a child his own mother had bought him a camera and then he decided to take close up photographs, in which he developed the photographs taken in a makeshift darkroom, which he had put up Andy Warhol himself. Andy Warhol as a kid he used to go the Holmes Elementary school and he also was taking some free art lessons which were being lectured in the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. As Andy Warhol grew older and turned into a teenager, his father had suffered from a sickness in his liver which was jaundiced and he died from this. Warhol emerged under his bed because he was very upset that he couldn’t attend his father’s funeral. Warhol’s father left his will for his son Andy Warhol for his collage educational, he did such thing because his father knew about his love for art, and so to show his love for his some he did such thing for his son so he could show his artistic skills. In that same year Andy Warhol started going to school at Schenley High School, and then he graduated, but before he registered himself at the Carnegie Institute for Technology, he did so, so he could enable himself to to make his studies further on pictorial design.

Andy Warhol when he had graduated and got a degree from College in Fine Arts, to accomplish his dream he then had to move to New York. After some times then got an offer to work with the Glamour magazine, and after that step he then wanted to become a very successful artist. Andy Warhol with his ability he had won multiple awards. At a later stage Andy Warhol gave more interest in painting, and so in the year 1961 he performed an abstract idea of Pop Art, which his ideas where mostly brought on mass production. In the year of 1962 he had put up a painting of Campbell soup cans. These art works give a lot of impact in the Art Production, which put up a bigger name on Warhol and Pop art.

References:

Andy Warhol Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com . 2013. Andy Warhol Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/andy-warhol-9523875?page=2. [Accessed 16 May 2013].
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts . 2013. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.warholfoundation.org/. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Art Nouveau

The Topic Art nouveau style is a style in which it is more suitable for the modern aged people. Inspirational sources were the artists, designers and architects’ first key source. These artists took unrecognized pieces of work and transformed them to have a more attractive and more appealing look. Art Nouveau art evolved from Celtic and Viking designs, these were chosen as inspirational sources because of the patterned lines, the delicacy which was put in them and also the curvy lines of the rococo style which was from the 18^th century. The designers always looks at aboriginal art which was taken from their own living place, which was in Norway Henrik Bull Drew which from the early Norwegian Viking art, whilst in France artists were being inspired from the Rococo style of the French. Cultures such as Japan, China and the Islamic world which are Non-European cultures, took an urgent request for the Artists and Designers of the Art Nouveau. Japanese merchandise took a high standard in the shops, this happened right after the Japanese communicated with the Europeans and the American in the year of the 1850s, these became extremely noticeable and because of this they were giving artists offers of possibilities that where to being brought as European styles. Inspirations for the Japanese woodblock were the stylized organic forms, the flat colors that were shown and also the characterized lining. The artist’s work, which is of Carlo Bugatti, which was from the Islamic countries, in which in Bugatti’s work, there was admired the technical brilliance and also the elegant patterns. Artists from Britain and France had an effect on the Art Nouveau Practitioners. The serious precursors were of the Aesthetic movement, the arts and crafts movement, and also joining is the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Designer William Morris prominence the static appreciation of the fine craftsman and individuality on the creativity found in the decorative arts, this was also held by Art Nouveau designers, this was a reply to the uniformity and poor quality merchandise which was made in the emergence of the Industrial Revolution.

References:

Art Nouveau. 2013. Art Nouveau. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/exhibit_sources.shtm. [Accessed 16 May 2013].
7 das Artes: Art Nouveau.. 2013. 7 das Artes: Art Nouveau.. [ONLINE] Available at: http://7dasartes.blogspot.com/2011/09/art-nouveau.html. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Dada

Dada started its movement in the early year of the 20^th century. Dada is illustrated as a movements in which artists make for art. In order for you to understand the meaning of the works done by Dada that grew in the current period it is necessary to have a look at the artists’ situation that they were put in position to. Dada art consists of anger issues in which the artist was put through and also in there loss of acknowledgement due to the community. Dada art was also caused by the World War 1 in which it caused the artists’ upsetness. Some Dada artists had moved to Switzerland, in which it was one of the countries which was one of the uninvolved countries at that current time. While artists were moving to Switzerland they began to form important communities in Zurich. These communities were formed by the artist Hugo Ball. Other communities were formed outside of Switzerland, which were formed in Germany, in which include Berlin, Berlin was very different from Zurich because of the difficulties and problems the German Dada artists were showed off to. There was only one place Outside of Europe which formed there Dada communities which was New York. European artists started to immigrate to America to form more Dada communities. There was one very important artist from the Dada movement communities, which was Marcel Duchamp.

References:

Stop Degenerate Art - DADA History. 2013. Stop Degenerate Art - DADA History. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.stopdegenerateart.com/rdadahistoryframe.html. [Accessed 16 May 2013].
Dada; A movement of artists against art. - ArtLyst. 2013. Dada; A movement of artists against art. - ArtLyst. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artlyst.com/member-articles/dada-a-movement-of-artists-against-art. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Postmodernism

Post Modernism is mostly about critically, strategically and rhetorically, which in post modernism there is difference, repetition, trace, simulacrum and hyperreality, to smooth function the presence, the identity, the historical progress, the epistemic certainty, and also the univocity. The first introduction of Postmodernism was on the philosophical lexicon in the year 1979, which was on the publishment on The Postmodern Condition which was done by the artist Jean-Francois Lyotard. Other figures where layed down the authority in the economy section.

The appropriate definition for Postmodernism is the movement of the artist which is listed as either arising after or in response to the topic modern art. This topic has also distributed in usage, in this topic there is also shown lack of approval against critics in the argument of whether postmodernism art in real life actually exists as an understatement movement or if it is a late outcome of modern art. The Postmodernism movement are in the years of the 1914 in Europe and also in the years 1962 and 1968 in the United States. Topics which are listed in Modern art are pastiche, appropriation and also the effect of the irony. Postmodernism’s meanings are the historical condition and the intentional movement. This can also show a wide variety of collections of the characteristics of the situation held, as shown in the former meaning, or it is also the reaction caused and also challenges in the modernism of the situation. Works related to the same topic are often stated as consumer culture, popular culture, globalization, the juxtaposition of such arts which art low standard and high standard, and also the part and equivalency of art in the community.

References:

What Is Postmodern Art? (with picture). 2013. What Is Postmodern Art? (with picture). [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-postmodern-art.htm#. [Accessed 16 May 2013].
Postmodernism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). 2013. Postmodernism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). [ONLINE] Available at: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/postmodernism/. [Accessed 16 May 2013].