Unit 5: Impressionism

It can be said that impressionism is one of those art reconciling eras of art between essence and evolution. If analyzed how the world suffered drastic changes of art tendencies, first neoclassicism integrated back ancient Greek art. Then, the world drastically jumped to realism that completely changed the way in which artists view the world from dreamy and mythical to crude and realistic. Then, impressionism came. The world forgot about the old and mythical.  During the impressionism era the artists’ view of the world challenged original painting techniques and rules. Its biggest exponent, Claude Monet used free brushing techniques, bright colors and thin lines to define shapes and forms. Thus, it changes the classical, detailed “fresco” appearance of paintings created previously. On the other hand, new century, new society and new idealism. Therefore, impressionist paintings where mostly portraits of people socializing in cafes, natural landscapes and all types of city views. Impressionism is also about modernity and independence, that is why perhaps today’s world is filled with the presence of the work of painters as Monet and Renoir anywhere.  Impressionism gave a quite change in people’s perspective of the world and art itself. At the end, impressionism portrayed the life of people form a modern view.

Unit 5: Renaissance.

As I have mentioned before throughout this blog, I found the renaissance era one of the best times that ever existed in the history of art and humanity. This, because most of my favorite painters as Botticelli, Donatello and Michelangelo rose at that time. It was an era of renovation. An era in which thankfully, the darkness and horribleness from the medieval times were taken away. Almost everything was going to be created from scratch and new inventions emerged. But, if talked about inventions and paintings, there is Leonardo da Vinci. It is laughable to notice that “La Giaconda” or “Mona Lisa” of da Vinci is the most known painting in the world and almost no one knows the era in which it was painted. I believe that if it was not because of the renaissance, the world of art and humanity would have never progressed. Thanks to renaissance, painting techniques, themes and materials, paintings became finer, delicate, more detailed, clearer and simply more beautiful. If it was not for “La Giaconda” of da Vinci or for “Venus” by Botticelli, the world of paintings, humanity and all kinds of art,  would have never find the light for progress. The renaissance era is for me, the light of the world.

Unit 5: Bernini

It is absolutely obvious that Bernini was a tremendous talented artist committed to give his greatest potential to the world. The way he defies gravity and captures vivid emotions and textures in his sculptures defines him as a unique and original sculptor. When I knew that his father was a sculptor from Florence I supposed that he was going to perfect his father’s surprising techniques but he surpassed everything and everybody actually. His work as an artists is magnificent and extraordinary. The “Ecstasy of Saint Teresa” and the bust of his beloved Constanza, I believe those are the most beautiful and realistic sculptures I have ever seen. The way that he is portrayed in the video allows people to get a superhuman perception of him. He was completely committed to his art, reputation and love life. What I think about what he really was, is that he was an extremely hard working person who loved to do what nature gave him as a talent. Thus, he did not have the necessity to avoid real life with substances and unrealistic problems such as Caravaggio and most artists, actually. Because Bernini worked hard enough to make himself a name and a reputation by making unconditionally what he loved to do, that make him move mountains in world of art.

Unit 5: Manifesto of Futurism

When reading the “Manifesto of Futurism” is easy to understand the concept of what the writer(s) want art to be.  Sometimes it is easy to get tired of beautiful and perfect things, such as museums and libraries as the manuscript recall. But, from my point of view there is no justification to get rid of beautiful and perfect things, given that those are the most appreciated things to have a happy human life. From the beginning of the time for art, all kind of artists have been trying to organize, perfect and beautify all forms of art. So, I do not find a reasonable reason for tearing down all what artists of all generations have been struggling for. The word “futurism” is a really eccentric word for whatever tendency the manuscript talks about. I think that the word “futurism” should represent progress and evolution of humanity and art. What the manuscript dictates is something absolutely not a list of principles that would take humanity and art to achieve progress and evolution, but all the contrary instead. Terms such as “scorn for women,” “violence,” “cruelty” and “ injustice” are things society fights and struggles everyday with. Because those things are bad situations. There is not even a little chance that people would accept something like this manifesto in their lives. Humanity is progress and evolution, a synonym for good, happier and easier, and art is a reflection of it.

Unit 5: Greek art

Greek art is one of the most beautiful and oldest manifestation of human feelings in the world. The fact that the tragedies, mysteries and taboos from Greek society were expressed in each piece of art is hard to digest all at once. From politicians, gods, goddesses, to ordinary people, Greek art showed that everything in the human world derives from art, feelings and beliefs. Although many cultures from superpower civilizations had conquered, transmitted and influenced great countries, there is no other like the Greek. As simply as it is, the Greeks not only created their own politics, literature, language and traditions, but their own type of art. I find Greek art as complicated as a human being. Its existence is pure and innocent at first, but it turns complex with the pass of the time. Love, passion, ambition, sacrifice and death happens. Some people say that Greek busts and pottery portrait the mythology and leaders only. What ii think is that busts and pottery, among other artistic creations from that time, show what human life is like. Greek art and mythology are pure manifestations of human beings.

Unit 5: Romanticism.

When romanticism approached people during the end of the eighteen century, they were somehow still influenced by the neoclassic era. What I think that happened, is that with the new rise of ideas of freedom, people wanted to be themselves pure as they could in literal and emotional aspects. So when the concept of freedom came to art, artists of all kinds felt the need to explore what they were really feeling and express it as deliberately as they could. Except when painting or writing about leaders. Because most of the paintings made during the romantic era where associated with heroic themes, leaders and courageous people where portrayed as something almost mythical. Perhaps that is why they called that tendency romanticism, artists tried to created something from nothing portraying their emotions as raw as possible, but at the same time, they gave their works an overthought and dreamy-like essence.  Though, when comparing prior art tendencies such as rococo and neoclassicism with romanticism, it can be said and noticed that romanticism turns to be the most crude and sincere kind of tendency ever adopted by society as a medium to express people’s feelings.

Unit 5: Neoclassicism.

I have come to believe that when humans do not know what else to do to express themselves, they just recycle whatever was used years and even centuries before. That is how I think that Neoclassicism rose from one second to the other. I find quite easy to believe that the Rococo era was a blast for all forms of art. What I do not find easy to digest is why people would choose to go back and take ancient Greek tendencies. It might be that I am saying this because the Rococo and Renaissance eras are the ones I like most. Rococo art was just a beautiful and almost magical representation of what the eighteen century was like. Rococo portraits would show their characters as immensely beautiful people in dreamlike places. Women would look like real life porcelain dolls and men as handsome as possible. On the other hand, neoclassicism brought back the coliseum like landscapes and disappeared the pastoral backgrounds. Everything was beautiful but simpler. So, I am not saying that Neoclassicism brought negative things to that era but, it was something not as progressive and evolutionary as I would have liked it to be.

Unit 5: Manifesto of Futurism.

When reading the “Manifesto of Futurism” is easy to understand the concept of what the writer(s) want art to be.  Sometimes it is easy to get tired of beautiful and perfect things, such as museums and libraries as the manuscript recall. But, from my point of view there is no justification to get rid of beautiful and perfect things, given that those are the most appreciated things to have a happy human life. From the beginning of the time for art, all kind of artists have been trying to organize, perfect and beautify all forms of art. So, I do not find a reasonable reason for tearing down all what artists of all generations have been struggling for. The word “futurism” is a really eccentric word for whatever tendency the manuscript talks about. I think that the word “futurism” should represent progress and evolution of humanity and art. What the manuscript dictates is something absolutely not a list of principles that would take humanity and art to achieve progress and evolution, but all the contrary instead. Terms such as “scorn for women,” “violence,” “cruelty” and “injustice” are things society fights and struggles everyday with. Because those things are bad situations. There is not even a little chance that people would accept something like this manifesto in their lives. Humanity is progress and evolution, a synonym for good, happier and easier, and art is a reflection of it.

Unit 4: The Content.

We have talked about the importance of many of the components of a painting or of a work or art but almost never of its content in specific. From my point of view, the content of a work of art is more important than its technique and style. The content is what makes people react to a work of art. In a movie, is the drama or the comic content what makes people enjoy or dislike it.  In other words, the content is what makes the audience react to a piece of art. When painting, playing or acting, your work as an artist is to firmly communicate your emotions, so anyone around your work can feel them to. That is emotional content. Clear examples of emotional content are the paintings made by the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. She transmitted her suffering to anyone that looked even for a second at one of her paintings. I believe that independently of admiring a painter’s technique, what really matters is his or her capability of making the audience feel something transmitted from his or her work. What makes possible a connection between the artist, the audience and the work, is the content. If a piece of art does not have any kind of content then the person that created it is not an artist at all.

Unit 4: Art and Gender.

As I have said many times before, because art is the purest expression of a human being, an artist’s work is a portrait of what he or she is. From my point of view, I do not see any difference between the does and don’ts of a specific genre. I believe that independently of being a man or a woman, whatever feeling passing through a person have the same effect. So, for me, both genres can do and feel the same things. Unfortunately, because of society’s taboos and social rules, most people think that men are different than women. A very long time ago it was established that men are stronger, more capable and have the right to do anything they wanted in comparison to women. Therefore, when interpreting the work made by a woman artist, critics would see and perceive different complements than a painting made by a man painter. A clear example of the importance of gender in art can be seen when comparing the two versions of “Susannah and the Elders” by Jacapo Tintoretto and Artemisa Gentileschi. It can be said that because Tintoretto is a man painter that lived during the fourteenth century, his version of the female character of the painting is somehow seductive but innocent, just as many men from that and this time usually see women. On the other hand, Gentileschi’s version portraits the female character in an anguish and discontent position. As a she is being molested by the old men and wanted them to stop. This last is I think, the most realistic version of Susannah’s situation, given that she is a woman and the painter can relate to the situation she is in. Also, I do not believe that any man or women would be acting seductive and innocent when they know that two old men and observing them with those kind of eyes. So, for me yes, gender takes a very important role in art. Men and women perceptions only differ because of society’s expectations, not because of a personal choice.

Unit 4: Formalist Criticism.

Although formalist criticism is somehow a very superficial way to interpret art, there is another possibility of understanding its point of view. Because formalist criticism do not look at the emotions, meaning and history of the paintings or arts of work, its interpretation of things are purely oriented by the technique, forms shapes and colors used in the works. It is hard to understand how formalist criticism intends to work with only the non-emotional elements of art when art is actually the expression of emotions. Art is the representation of whatever painters feel, live or see. That is the reason for a painter to paint. Emotions. So, when criticizing a piece of art from this perspective I cannot see the purpose why a person would bother to examine it. From my perspective, there is not a possible way for interpreting or criticizing art without feeling something each time an art work is displayed. People even associate forms, colors and textures with feelings that may give reference to a place, a situation or even a dream. Therefore, I personally think that when people try to criticize a painting from this point of view, they overlook what really art is and also, they try to stop being human, and that is something impossible.

Unit 4: The Meaning of the Abstract

When admiring an abstract painting, people is able to find a personal meaning or interpretation for the work. I believe that independently of all types of paintings, abstract works are very personal for the painter and for the audience. Although abstract paintings are sometimes symmetric and with different shapes and forms, the overall picture does not have a defined result. That is why painters like Clyfford Still and Carlo Carra got multiple critiques of their work. There is not a possible way that the public had a general concept of their paintings. Abstract painting is impossible to understand with general concepts, emotions and too much thinking. Abstract paintings are what they are that is all you can get from them. Abstract paintings are the union of colors, shapes and the direction of brushstrokes. These kind of art work does not even require people to think and search for Thea meaning. Instead, the meaning and sense of abstract paintings are found when the first glance is given to the painting. The effect that the colors, shapes and forms of the painting give to people is the real meaning of it. If a person associates bright blue with the sky or the ocean, the abstract painting would have a oceanic or heavenly effect in that person. For me abstract art is one of the most beautiful, personal and enjoyable types of painting. It is basically you.

Unit 4: Triumph of the Will

After watching an excerpt from the movie Triumph of the Will by Leni Riefenstahl, about the Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler’s “success,” it is possible to say that the audience can become very motivated by the promises and illusions made by the Nazi party.  Sadly, the movie has this effect in people only because of the special effects and the production of the movie. I believe this movie is an example of how naïve, unconscious and primal human beings are. This movie shows that human beings are very competitive and that is why they abuse and harm themselves in a psychological way. That is why perhaps, they proclaim to be the most mentally superior living beings in the whole universe, human beings have found their own weakness and that is their own minds. This movie made me realize that art has more influence in people than they would ever know. From speeches, poems, novels, and music to paintings and films, art can change people’s world in one second. This movie has awaken a part of me that made me become aware of how manipulative human beings are. With the movement of the camera, the background music and the special effects Triumph of the Will might have changed the perspective of a great amount of people toward the world and how to live with prosperity. This is how perhaps how we are still manipulated in mere 21st century.

Unit 4: Chris Burden's Shoot

When watching Chris Burden’s Shoot, there are three possible explanations for his work. The first one is that he wanted to express or show to the world the power and control of the human mind given that he volunteered to be shoot by his friend without showing any restraint, pain or panic when the shooting happened. The second reason is that he wanted to cause controversy and attention in order to get a wider public by showing and doing what almost no one in the world would never accept to do (harm themselves). The third possible reason to explain his work is that he felt the need to get shoot and experience the adrenaline and pain that being shoot inflicts in order to satisfy his artistic or personal demands. I understand that Burden experienced the Hippie, Disco and Rock & Roll movements all at the same time, and that those tendencies influenced him in an artistic way. What I do not understand is the reason why somebody would try to portrait a situation of personal danger. Pain has always been the “lover” of artists, but the concept that he uses to portrait whatever he feels (that for his presentation can be said that it is not pain), is not what art is like. From my perspective, whatever feeling or action portrayed in a work of art has to come from a natural medium, not something that you as an “artist” think and do. It is something that already occurred to you and you need to take out of your body and mind so you can live with a little bit more of peace. And, I do not think that being shoot purposely would give whatever kind of person you are a little bit of piece so you can live. At the end everybody is different in perspective and for matters of feelings and everything is respectable.

Unit 4: The Spirituality of Colors

After reading “The Royal Arts of Africa, The Majesty of Form” by Suzanne Preston Blier, the public is able to find and interpret art as something that goes far away from feelings and materials. The public is able to interpret art by its colors and forms in a spiritual way. The use of wood and bead to represent deities completely challenge the generalized representation of royalty and wealth. Given that Yoruba and Dahomey people use simple and natural materials to portrait the highest power in the earth for their culture, gives their art a more profound meaning when it is appreciated. Yoruba and Dahomey art show people that the importance of something is given by the value of that something itself. There is not necessity of showing precious rocks or exotic materials when the power of the colors themselves represent the importance of an object. Because Yoruba and Dahomey people assigned colors with their gods, saints, and royals, the use of any color and form would make people associate and connect with their spirituality and traditions. Thanks to this written work by Blier and to the Yoruba and Dahomey people, the perception of art and colors have a more profound impact in people who knows about it.

Unit 4: Un Chien Andalou

When watching Un Chien Andalou by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí, people is able to perceive almost immediately the surrealism of the movie. The way in which the scenes are shot and the concepts used to represent the most essential and controversial themes for humans as love, sexuality, pain and terror have a very good impact in the public. Though, the fact that surrealism is very difficult to understand when it is expressed by someone that is not you, makes the movie a little tedious and hard to watch at moments. The way in which the special effects and succession of scenes is accommodated may have had confused and altered the public, given that the movie remotes to the 1930’s when only the very “rebel” and rich people were the ones that paid to watch this kind of films, and they were repudiated by the “normal”  and “decent” people of society. People of the 21st century, now see surreal artists as Salvador Dali with admiration eyes. Though, I have to say, Un Chien Andalou would probably be a short film not well acclaimed because as everything that is surrealistic, people would not be able to find easily the meaning of the work unless the work was made by them, and people to the 21st century do not like something that is not easy to do or understand.

Unit 3: Contemporary photography

Thanks to technology and the demanding use of cellphones integrated with almost professional camera resolutions, contemporary photography is almost everybody’s thing.  If analyzed how accessible the use of photographic cameras became in a ten-year period, the technological progress can be compared with the integration of tablets in the world. Although classic and professional photography still important for society, the daily-life informal photography is what matters the most for everybody. Today photography is a way of communication and social status. With the use of social media applications and a smartphone, people is able to take pictures at the caliber of a professional photographer. The capture of food, fashion objects, landscapes and work out pictures are the most famous captions of interest all over the world. What makes these pictures interesting is the way in which people alter and modify their capture. A very new and current photographic tendency called “selfies” is, I think, one of the most influential artistic tendencies ever. It consist in taking a picture of yourself from certain angles that makes you look “you”. Today pictures can also be digitalized and edited immediately after being taken. People is able to adjust the light, contrast, shadow and even erase the so hated in the past “red eyes.” In my opinion, I can say that thanks to the digitalization of all forms of art, not only artists but all people can reach a way to express or in this case, capture whatever they want and can.  

Unit 3: Digital arts

As everything created by humans, all forms of art evolve continually with new technologies. The purpose of making even art easier made possible the existence of new tendencies. Thanks to digital arts, sculptors and painters can see their work finished and symmetrically perfect in their computers before painting or sculpting. Digital arts also contribute to the general economy with great impact. Today, the all kinds of sell strategies use of digital arts with advertising purposes. Today for big companies “the catchier the images, the richer you get” is their motto. Digital art has also established new types of fashion all over the world. The digital editing of classic paintings, the use of fluorescent colors and the making of different types of patterns for clothing make cultures constantly change all over the world. I think that with today’s graphic designers and all other types of digital artists, the world is in a constant art revolution. Digital arts are getting rid of the old.

Unit 3: Contemporary sculpture

Sculpture has become one of the most influenced forms of art by technology. With the invention of new digital techniques to create art in general, sculptors now have the opportunity to get their artworks perfectly symmetric and textured by different computerized programs. In other words, the sculpture of today’s world is more perfect than it probably was during any other time from the past. Also, the use of very easy-to-handle materials and carving machines and instruments have made the world a way easier for sculptors to work more than ever. New sculpting tendencies started to rise when digital art programs became accessible to everybody. The work made by Barry X Ball is a great example of what contemporary sculpture looks like. His work is a mixture of old and new sculpting techniques that make his works look new and classic at the same time. Ball’s busts are also representations of classical sculptures from around the world. Ball adds a touch of realism and texture to make the busts his. So, perhaps, as any other thing during this time, all forms of art are suffering a change where old techniques, works and themes are altered in order to fit in the new society.

Unit 3: Painting

When thinking about everything related to painting, most people would always picture a squared canvas with random colors, shapes and themes. Also, when visiting a museum or gallery, people would always find a painting that they like most. But the selection of this painting would almost always have to do with the theme, shapes and colors of the painting, and rarely with the texture and the space. Also, people almost never care about the type of materials and techniques used by the painters to create their works. Though, the materials and techniques are the most important factors of a painting, given that they define the nature of the work. The most known coloring materials used by painters are encaustic, fresco, tempera, oleo, watercolor, acrylic and ink. Each of these materials are worked with specific techniques with the same name. Additionally, the use of the coloring materials give distinct textures due to the ingredients used to create them. For example, oil is heavier than any of the other materials, but when it is applied on a canvas, the texture given as suave as the touch of the skin. From my experience, when thinking about texture, I prefer to use acrylic and oil given that I consider those two the most malleable but consistent materials to paint with on canvas.

Unit 3: The art of printing

Even though printing is one of the most common forms of art in the world, no one seems to give it the importance and seriousness it deserves. From the time of the great civilizations such as the Egyptian, Roman and Greek, printing has been a big part of the development of art in human history. Thanks to the original patterns of printing, the creation of newspapers and books made the world a more connected place.  As any other kind of art, printing has evolved and become more and more sophisticated. Additionally, there is no other type of art that started a revolution with human communication and development. When analyzing types of printing such as intaglio, relief, lithography and screen painting it is almost impossible not to notice how humans manage to make the printing process simpler, just as everything in their life. It can be also said that all types of printing differ in great meanings. Though, they all serve the same purpose of making tangible, unique and at the same time, duplicable a vision from the artist’s imagination. I think that printing is one of the many examples of how a simple intangible idea can change the whole world forever. 

Unit 3: The rifest art in the world.

When people think about art, different forms of it comes to their minds, but never architecture as one of them. If a deeper analysis of why architecture is not associated with art is made, most people would say that art is about the expression of feelings, and that the construction of millions of buildings and houses has nothing to do with expressing feelings. But they are wrong. When entering churches, monasteries, museums, palaces and castles, people always find or get multiple feelings very well influenced by the architecture of the buildings. When visiting a town, it’s sight would give particular feelings to its visitors because of its architecture. There is a big difference in the impression that the architecture of the museum of Auschwitz would give to its visitors compared to the architecture of the roman coliseum or the one from an Aztec pyramid. The truth is that because we see architecture more as a science than as an art, most people do not recognize the difference between only constructing and creating a representation of something. This last sentence is what artists do. Artists create works that represent something. If people actually knew the extremely meticulous work that the creation of a painting, a sculpture or a piece of music take, they would never separate architecture from the forms of art list. For me, architecture is more likely to sculpture but in big dimensions and with the great advantage of even living in an artist’s creation.

Unit 3: Influential filmography

When trying to give a message, it is proved that the best way to do it is by showing it, expressing it or creating it in the form of an image or images. Humans retain information through images better than using another type of source. This happens because humans relate an image with a concept or backwards. That is why Shakespeare’s works during the English Renaissance had great impact in the society. The representation of his plays gave people the representation of real love and tragedy, rather than just the concepts of them. So, it can be said that although new tendencies arrived with the past of the time and the new technologies, it is true that people wants to still seeing the representation of concepts instead of just learning them. That is why when watching a movie based on social struggle or some sort of propaganda, the message (s) given affect us more than the mention of the social struggle or propaganda itself. Because the producers and directors want people to accept or perceive a message in the way they see things, they make visual and audio arrangements so people can get more into the movie. Examples of movies with strong messages about social struggle and idealism are movies like Selma that changed people’s perception of the African-American struggle in the U.S. While Triumph of the Will might have arisen neo Nazis around the world. So, when would movies stop influencing us? 

Unit 3: Crafts, essential part of a culture.

What would the world’s greatest cultures would have been without crafts? I think that the answer is almost unbearable. There would never have been great cultures and consequently, contemporary cultures would not exist neither. The fact is that crafts are the medium in which cultures represent their unique characteristics. The artistic use of wood, ceramics, glass, metalwork and fiber, among other simple materials, have taken an immense impact in the definition of art in general. Examples of the use of the previous mentioned materials are the wood figures made by the Native Americans, the blown glass figures by the Aztecs, and the metalwork jewelry made by the Hindi. When defining crafts, it can be said that they are those artistic things that make a place or a person be connected with tendencies, traditions and cultures with some sort of extravaganza and authenticity. For today’s world the word “crafts” means either activities as painting ceramics or artisan work. Most people does not know that the term  “crafts” has a much broader definition and includes numerous activities. The truth is that although  “crafts” was more a fashion tendency during the nineteenth century, its meaning should always be associated with hand-made objects that reflect the unique characteristics of a culture. 

Unit 2: Sculpture

Since the beginning of human life in the earth, there have always existed sculptures or intents of it throughout human evolution. It can be said that the earliest sculpture that ever existed is the rock when humans tried to make weapons out of it by giving it form. Humans continued experimenting with different rocky materials until they completely evolved and started to create figures during the prehistoric times.  With the great civilizations such as the roman, sculpture started to be viewed as a form art. This time the creation of forms had a different meaning to the world. Sculpture started to be a representation of something or somebody instead of using it as an object. Examples of the civilizations that played an important role in the evolution and refinement of sculpture are the Greek, Egyptian and Roman civilizations. Also, in the other part of the world, the Inca, Maya and Aztec among other civilizations started to create sculptures representing their gods with completely different and exotic materials never used and known before by the old continents’ civilizations.  So when the colonialist people arrived to the American continent a new types of sculpture started to emerge from the mix of cultures.  Today, the evolution of sculpture can be seen along the evolution of humans. We started sculpturing with rocks, then mud, clay, marble, ice and wax, until today’s easy –to-handle materials. Though what would never change is the human necessity to sculpt.

Unit 2: Rembrandt

Aside from Da Vinci and Picasso, Rembrandt is one of the most known and recognizable painters over the world. In fact, it always has been like that. Perhaps people recognize him because of his unique way to capture people’s emotions in his portraits or because of his ability to capture multiple feelings in his landscapes. His technique is also very well used by painters of the baroque that made him one of the most important exponents of the Dutch golden age. Although I have read that one of the inspirational factor for his technique has do to with Caravaggio’s dark coloring and the representation of religious figures, I can find a pastel coloring technique-like that reminds me of Gennady Spirin. In comparison with most baroque’s artists, Rembrandt finds a way to eliminate, if possible, the darkness and hidden elements of that time in his paintings. Instead, he captures his clients’ pure soul through their eyes and facial gestures. Additionally, the fact that because he as many other artists where tired of the same style in paintings, the rise of printmaking gave him a different way of expression. It is possible to say that people will always find a place in the heads of the people of any age because he made what a few painters express in their paintings, and that is someone else’s feelings.

Unit 2: Only Artists

When talking about art and paintings, it is impossible not to wonder about the artist’s perception of life and how they reflect it in their works. When the artist’s work is hard to understand, the public would always look the artist’s life, but when they cannot understand it either, the public would classified the artist as a crazy, misplaced person. What people does not know is that artists have a greater ability to feel or perhaps they are only more susceptible than the rest. For this reason, many and almost all kinds of artists, mostly painters, are accused to suffer of mental illnesses. No matter what kind of personal issues they go through their lifetime, people think that they always finish crazy, hurt, weird and poor. Enigmatic suitors of these characteristics are Dali, Van Gogh, Caravaggio, Frida Kahlo, Modigliani, Da Vinci, Munch and the list can go on. So, I believe there are not suicide, crazy or weird artists, but susceptible and misunderstood normal people with a greater capacity for love and hate.

Unit 2: The Seven Elements.

When talking about the seven elements of art, it can be said it is impossible to create a work of art without them. They are the essential factors that paintings need to have in order to interpret their meaning. They are also independent from the artist’s plan. If color, texture, shape, line, space, form and value of a painting is not showed, people would have a very hard time to interpret and understand the artist’s work.  Although non-painted white canvases have been exposed in museums as pieces of art all over the world, they have little or none response from the public. What really interest people, or at least most of them, is the way in which colors, textures and shapes play within the paintings. For this reason a circular or asymmetric canvas with a variety of colors, textures and shapes receive more attention than those with a traditional square canvas. Also, it is very interesting how the elements suffer a continuous change with the rise of new tendencies and techniques. From the times of Botticelli, to the times of Klimt, the techniques and textures have changes in a very noticeable way. Texture and space have become two of the most important elements throughout the evolution of art. Today, most paintings can have different shapes and colors, but what people want is textured asymmetric paintings. So what would the future of painting be?

Unit 2: Carvaggio

From my point of view, Caravaggio is one of the hundreds of uncomprehending souls of the artistic world. The controversy that his work has made because of the infinite numbers of interpretations of it makes clear what a character he was during his life time and still is after his death. For some reason the work of Caravaggio reminds me of painters such as Botticelli and Rembrandt. The first one because his clean and very well established technique and style, and because the characterization of himself in his paintings. On the other hand, it reminds me of Rembrandt because of the obscure or “tenebrist” technique used in almost all of his paintings. I always say that when interpreting a painting, it is essential to understand the painter first. In this case, because Caravaggio is a very mysterious figure of the most obscure times of humanity, it is almost very well predictable what passed through his mind when painting. The first factor that can be assumed he captured in his paintings was the unfair, dirty and almost unhappy society of his time. It can also be seen the fight between light and darkness. This can be attributed to the representation of religious pieces and perhaps his on fight for having a less complicated life. As no many painters of his time, Caravaggio captured in religious pieces his and the life of most people during his time.

Unit 2: Shapes in paintings.

When painting a portrait, landscape or even an abstract work, it is impossible not to make shapes given that they are one of the most important contributing factors of a painting. From Venus of Botticelli to Miro’s Harlequin's Carnival, the use of geometric and organic shapes really define the overall works because of the exceptional symmetries created by them. It can be seen how shapes in paintings change with the origin of new tendencies, some using more negative than positive shapes and other using only free form shapes. Also, it is very interesting how people does not notice shapes in paintings at all. Most people just see the overall picture instead of checking the details of how the painting was made. But I think that only painters and experts do that. I think also that the kind of shapes used in a painting gives observers a hint of the painter’s unique work technique. Even when trying to make a circle either by hand of with help of an object, it is impossible that two painters would do and use the space in the same way.  Consequently, the pattern of the shapes make a painting unique. Therefore, aside of the use of colors, texture, materials and tendency, shapes are what really makes a work understandable for the public.

Unit 2: The value of art.

It is possible to say that art is in many ways one of the most influential things of our lives. Today the media has imposed art in our everyday life in the form of music, movies, books, paintings and even sculptures but people does not know it. Though, the truth is that people in general do not give any value to art and I think that it is because they do not really understand art and the artists. I once went to dinner with a family friend who has two famous singer sons and a painter daughter. He told me that singers as painters and any other type of artists, just as their work meant nothing to him. He said that almost anyone can sing, dance and paint because these “things” are the reflection of every day’s feelings and everybody can feel. He told me that artist are either crazy and weird or fragile and effeminate. Plus, they are also poor. I think that many people as my friend have that perception of artists and art because of the media business that only cares to create whatever sells as easier as possible. If the media showed the work of real artists, people would be more educated and would get to respect and value art. Art is passion, love and complete dedication just as the most valuable things of life and once people gets to know that, they would see it as something that counts in the life of everybody.

Unit 2: The feeling of colors.

When walking, sitting or even laying down at any place, there would always be color around us. Just as any other thing in our lives, like watching our classroom partners the first day of school when trying to find a comfortable environment, we feel something when looking the colors of every place we are in. They make us feel comfortable, stressed, depressed or happy. The problem is that most people does not realize that they do notice them. Though, the truth is that we all do. That is why when the sun does not show and the sky is grey, most people prefer to stay at home in pajamas and watch movies, even if there are places to go to or activities to do. On the other hand, when the sky is shining with an extremely yellow sun, most people prefer to go out and do outside activities, even if it is raining. The effect that colors have upon our feelings is very strong and almost irresistible. Colors are even classified by how they make us feel because of their light and tone. There are warm, cold and neutral colors. So, if we look at a yellow painted room, it may overwhelm us with little or great happiness, energy and coziness. But if the same room is painted with a bluish grey color, it may give us feelings of emptiness, sadness and that it is even larger. Therefore, it is possible to say that our feelings depend very much of the colors we are surrounded by and that their effect is almost as strong as when we see the love of our life. They completely change us.

Unit 1: Art in my Heritage

The fact of being half Cuban half Mexican with Spanish, French, Aztec and Taino heritage, gives very diverse forms of art and culture in my life. From the traditional instruments of music and dances to the sometimes primal and sophisticated techniques of painting, I represent somehow all of them. It can be said that Mexican art is the one I have more influence from. I grew up in love with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, the sound of the music and the colors of the traditional folklore. Then it is possible to say that because of my Cuban heritage, I can imitate the sound of tribal percussions and dance like the original people from the island did. Finally from the Spanish art, I got the most graceful movements of a flamenco dancer that my grandmother taught me, and from he French I got the profound admiration for painters like Monet, Toulouse Lautrec and Pissarro. I believe that it does not matter where you come from or what is your heritage because after all, every culture in the world, even with different traditions, they reflect their autochthony with the same purpose of representation.

Unit 1: Orlan

The fact that Orlan transformed herself into the characters of famous paintings is almost incredible to the eyes of the world. When thinking about new or old artistic tendencies, there is none a similar to Orlan’s. When analyzing her work, that was not even consider a form of art at the beginning, it can be said that it is completely new, contradictory and a little terrific for the fact that she is her own “canvas.” I believe that if her work is to be analyzed, it would be very important to wonder why someone would transform himself or herself in something completely different than he or she actually is. The answer may be that people with body alterations such as piercings or horns, and tattoos may have the same perception of themselves just as Orlan. This because most tattooed people get tattoos because that is what they need to be themselves. Orlan in this case, just as any other artist, needs to become what she wants in order to be herself, and I think that is what artist do. An example of this is can be seen in musicians when they perform, the fact of being a musician has to do with him or her fusing with the instrument so they can be and sound as one and that is what Orlan do with herself, she fuses with the paintings so she and the painting can be one.

Unit 1: Van Gogh

Van Gogh is perhaps one of the most controversial artists in the history of painting because of his personality, his work and well, his ear. This last fact is perhaps what made him a controversial and admired painter around the world, even after several years of his death. Because Van Gogh’s works are said to be part of the post-impressionism and the time in which he lived in was in some ways dark for a person like him, the assumption of him being crazy at the greatest potential made his art and life more interesting for everyone. The fact that the inspiration of many of his paintings came from what he used to see in his surroundings made his work path very diverse and sometimes contrasting. From my perspective, Van Gogh painted from the outside to the inside of his body because in some way his works such as portraits, landscapes and drawings show parts of the outside world but at the same time they represent what was inside of his mind. The fact that many people considered him crazy and very mentally ill may be reflected in his paintings, but for me, because his work was diverse in colors and techniques, I can only see the expression of a normal human being trying to expose his feelings that sometimes where bigger than himself.

Unit 1: Frida Kahlo's art

As seen in her house, Frida Kahlo is a very difficult person to understand, because from my point of view, when analyzing and comprehending an artist’s work it is almost essential to know a little part of his or her life as a normal person. In Frida Kahlo’s case, her life and interpretation of it in her paintings, give her spectators a hint of what not little, but great parts of her life was like. The opposite of any other painters circumstance, as previously mentioned. So when you get to see the inside and outside of her house, the blue house surroundings in the little town of Coyoacan, it is almost impossible to imaging her shopping around with her xoloitzcuintli dogs or painting while laying down in her mirrored bed. Because the feelings expressed in her paintings, she became one of the most popular painters of her time. Though, what I think people does not know is that in reality, she became very popular and admired for many people because of being herself, an intelligent Mexican woman that exposed her ideals and personality without being afraid. There are many quotes from her that make people paralyze, as well as paintings but I think that what really makes Frida an artist is the fact of being Frida herself and watch her either in person, pictures of her own paintings.

Unit 1: Art as a form of revolution.

Since the beginning of life, humans have been leaving marks everywhere they go. Many people think that Neanderthals left marks in caves because they wanted to illustrate their lifestyles just as many painters do today. Though, I believe that Neanderthals left marks in their caves to let others know that they have lived there and in some way proclaim the cave theirs. In modern times, young people mostly leave marks on buildings and/or in any blank wall they find, not only for letting people know of their presence in that place, but because they want people to pay attention to their work. Graffiti, paintings of any kind, music and cinematographic works are the most relevant forms in which artists express their comfort or discomfort for some situations. An example of this can be the movie “Seven Years a Slave” in which discomfort for racism and inequality is showed. Also, the famous Mexican song “La Cucaracha (The Cockroach)” was written to demonstrate discomfort against the Mexican government during the Mexican Revolution. Additionally, paintings by Diego Rivera and Botticelli showed the discomfort of the people against political images and beliefs. Therefore, since art is a form of expressing what we feel, every belief that people follows have taken part of revolutions around the world.

Unit 1: An artist's feeling

Because art is an expression of feelings, all its executors may be more emotional that an average person. Therefore, because of the natural need of letting out feelings such as sadness, frustration, stress, love, among others, artists need something more than spoken words to fulfil their expressionism as persons. Examples of this argument can be given when observing the paintings of Frida Kahlo who mostly represented the pain she felt during her life in her works. Another example is the music of Ray Charles who have written and sung every song inspired by love, sadness and admiration for his place of birth Georgia. There can be millions of examples that can be given to exemplify the diverse forms in which artists of all artistic disciplines express their feelings. Because I consider myself an artist for my love for painting, music, dance and poetry, I am able to say what I feel when I do any of the previous activities. What I feel when I paint or play violin or sing or dance is something very similar to happiness or an approximation to it. At least any of these activities give a little or a huge relieve to what I felt before doing something and that is perhaps more than happiness or simply life.

Unit 1: Evolution of Art

From the primal paintings on caves to today’s digitized pictures in cafe shops, art is still giving the same messages to people, awareness of something. Because art is pure human feelings and/or emotions, human evolution is been reflected on it. It can be quite surprising how humans have always tried to communicate their feelings towards a situation and search for a medium to express them. It is almost unbelievable how the methods of painting and music production have changed through the time. The fact that only a hundred years ago, we were still trying to figure out how to get a perfect picture, when now, everybody can take pictures as professional photographers. As everything that humans do to evolve, the methods and practices of almost all arts have been altered to make the process of creation easier that in the past. Therefore, human progress and art have and will always be together because one can never live without the other and while one exists the other will prevail even when one has to adapt to the other. 

Unit 1: What is Art?

It can be said that art is simple human expression. Also, because art is something created from practically nothing, it can become everything for its creators. When humans create something while feeling any possible emotion it can be called art. Consequently, because humans are emotional beings (they are always feeling something), it can be said that almost everything humans do is art. When making sounds, speculating words, writing thoughts, acting, painting and capturing even a single particle of dust, humans create art. It is not the fact of making sounds or acting what represents art, but the meaning of these actions. That is why I think that not only actors, musicians or painters are artists but ordinary people doing ordinary things, such as a mother cooking for their children or a passionate business person closing a deal. Because art is not the painting but what the painter felt while doing it, a mother’s meal is not just food, but love and dedication for her children. Therefore any kind of creation by humans can be considered art and consequently we all live in a world full of art.