In the World of Art

In Abstract Expressionism - a certain construction of the world we call “individuality” is revealed in its true, that is to say, contingent, vulgarity. And so is painting; or rather, so are paintings like Hofmann’s “The Garden” and Adolph Gottlieb’s “Black, Blue Red” - done as they were under the sign or spell of such a construction, by “individuals” believing utterly (innocently, idiotically) in its power.

Jane’s goal is clearly much higher than reproducing other’s works. She sees herself acquiring the skills of a professional artist. Jane

In “Ways of Seeing”, John Berger, an English art critic, argues that images are important for the present-day by saying, “No other kind of relic or text from the past can offer such direct testimony about the world which surrounded other people at other times. In this respect images are more precise and richer literature” (10). John Berger allowed others to see the true meaning behind certain art pieces in “Ways of Seeing”. Images and art show what people experienced in the past allowing others to see for themselves rather than be told how an event occurred. There are two images that represent the above claim, Arnold Eagle and David Robbins’ photo of a little boy in New York City, and Dorothea Lange’s image of a migratory family from Texas; both were taken during the Great Depression.

In this selection of the book, Gitlin discusses a seventeenth-century Dutch painter by the name of Vermeer. Vermeer was known for being able to”fr[ee]ze instants, but instants that spoke of the relative constancy of the world in which his subjects lived” (Gitlin 558). People collected Vermeer’s paintings for display throughout their homes. Gitlin sees Vermeer as the seventeenth-century version of the media. In that time, the images painted were relative to the people’s era and private world. In today’s world Vermeer would be the equivalent to a celebrity photographer or movie director. If Vermeer, or any other artist of his time, were to see today’s households, they would find that the once private space inside the home is now much more dominated by images of the outside world than what would have been possible in the 1600’s.

In John Berger’s essay “Ways of Seeing,” he shares his view on how he feels art is seen. Mr. Berger explores how the views of people are original and how art is seen very differently. By comparing certain photographs, he goes on to let his Audience, which is represented as the academic, witness for themselves how art may come across as something specific and it can mean something completely different depending on who is studying the art. The author goes into details of why images were first used, how we used to analyze art vs how we do today, and the rarity of arts. He is able to effectively pass on his message by using the strategies of Rhetoric, which include Logos, Pathos, and Ethos.

Overall, the ideologies discussed within the articles Written In Blood: 20th Century Art by Stephanie Dudek and Estrangement As A Motif In Modern Painting by John Adkins Richardson address similarities and differences from various standpoints. Modernistic ideologies towards social, cultural and technological changes of the 20th century are demonstrated in both articles. The article by Stephanie Dudek emphasizes on the employment of radical and transgressive values by modern artists within their work to target cultural, and artistic principles that have persisted over many generations leading to a transformation within the subject of art (Dudek 105). Furthermore, modern art set out to obtain new visions of reality as witnessed within the Cubist

In the first example, Wolfe uses the American artists in the Japanese museum, the artists were surprised to see that they were considered to be artists from the “Manual age”, it proved that our world is ever-changing, especially with technology.

Form of "afterlife insurance" in order to trick the soul into staying alive in the event of the body's destruction

In Grandview Boulevard, completed in 1974 CE, the artist utilizes painterly brushstrokes. The shadows of the trees that are painted dark purple appear to have more painterly aspects than the rest of the composition. From far away, the painting seems smooth and sleek, but up close, the individual thick brushstrokes can be seen. The implied texture of the leaves in the painting is sturdy and prickly, and the texture of the yellowed grass appears to be dry and coarse, however, the actual texture of the painting itself is smooth. The artist also uses both curvilinear and geometric lines. In looking at the trees in the painting, they are composed of primarily geometric lines (excluding the leafy top) that run in a

American art, and its countless mediums, evolved equally with the capitalist country. This is a visual medium and a form of self-expression, where an artists is free to turn a canvas into anything he or she would like. They are not bound by grammar, words or other aspects of written communication and could freely As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words”; and in America, their work served as mirrors of the social and political climate. The many painters, architects, and photographers themselves could be considered the archivists that shaped the “all-American” identity.

question John Berger, critic of art and author of the Ways of Seeing, raised in his essay, and it is

The way we see and perceive this art is predetermined by a variety of different factor ranging from cultural background to socioeconomic status. “A people or a class which is cut off from its own past is far less free to choose and to act as a people or class than one that has been able to situate itself in history. This is why -- and this is the only reason why -- the entire art of the past has now become a political issue” (J. Berger pg. 33) He argues that if a group of people are robbed of being able to create their own culturally relative and socially correct standards for art, then they are being oppressed from engaging as political equals. People use art to understand their place within world history and create social and political meaning for themselves or their culture. Art gives you the power to control how people perceive the past, the present and possibly even the future. Although now the ability to control what art people see isn’t as “regulated” as it once was, but prior to the invention of the camera and the internet, art was controlled by the minority of the elite and wealthy. “the art of the past is being mystified because a privileged minority is striving to invent a history which can retrospectively justify the role of the ruling classes and such a justification can no longer make sense in modern terms” (J. Berger, Pg.157). The upper class mystifies the general population to stay in control; without the ability to see things through our own eyes, people are being deprived of their right to understanding themselves and placing themselves in a role of society. Mystification contributes a negative influence on our society. Mystifying of art distinguish upper class and low class, and more importantly causes the past of certain groups and cultures, such as women,

Levine reflects on the act of photography as a powerful interaction between the subject and the objectified, the object and the subjugated. This is the primary way that Levine distances herself from that which she imitates. Barthes (1977) would point out that Levine is engaging in a new form of encoding through her work; she is not creating a “simple agglutination of symbols,” but rather something that has meaning in itself (p.

Returning to Benjamin, he writes that, “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space” (Benjamin II) which corroborates the speaker of the poem’s stance that, “Meaning takes place in time” (Solie 38). Although Benjamin’s thoughts focus more on the ubiquity and lack of authenticity that occurs with mass image production and reproduction, “Bitumen” shares some of these concerns, tracing the development of modern proliferation of images from the first imagining techniques of Joseph-Nicéphore Niépce, to the “photochrome postcards” (32) of late 19th century, up to video- sharing websites. The speaker of “Bitumen” looks to construct a timeline of image mediation alongside the aestheticization of catastrophe. Even calamitous weather events, which “Bitumen” ties to the “unseasonable” (34) weather that results from global warming, becomes a sublime, photogenic spectacle with the ubiquity and quotidian character of modern image and film: “tornados on YouTube relieve us of our boredom” (“Bitumen” 33). The speaker of “Bitumen” argues that these mediations pacify rather than invigorate, and replace what should be fear and action with awe and

Benjamin’s death in 1940 at the age of 48, is rumored to be a suicide when the Naza’s took office, but is still a mystery. His ideas and concepts however, would live on for decades to come. Much of what he wrote about when discussing art came essentially after the development of photography and film. In his work, “Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” Benjamin addresses his perception of the changes in art and the aesthetic experience congruent with societal changes. He writes with concern of how the great artworks are viewed after the introduction of photography and film. His idea of mechanical reproduction changed the art world as society knew it, particularly in how the public views artwork and the value of that work as more and more people are able to own, view and discuss it. This paper will specifically look at aspects of Benjamin’s groundbreaking essay and how educators can relate his ideas to the practices in their art classrooms.