Leo Steinberg Assignment

Steinberg’s essay, “The Philosophical Brothel,” of 1972 was a new account of Picasso’s masterwork, Les Demoiselles d’Avignion [Fig. 13]. Steinberg roots his analysis of the painting in its relationship to the viewer. Steinberg extends the role of the viewer until it is he who completes the painting as the male solicitor of the women in the painting: “The picture is a tidal wave of female aggression; one either experiences the Demoiselles as an onslaught, or shuts it off. But the assault on the viewer is only half of the action, for the viewer, as the painting conceives him on this side of the picture plane, repays in kind.”98 The horizontality of the flatbed picture plane, and the new content it allows, makes the viewer’s role an active

The skull is a symbol of our mortality and was often used in the vanities of 17th century oil paintings such as in the painting The Ambassadors by Hans Holbein. It is a reminder of the transience of life and the futility of pleasure. Dali plays with these psychological concepts in this work by using this symbol from vanitas and incorporating the object of man’s desires into the skull. The photograph is meant to provoke the viewer by blending our fear of death and our earthly cravings. Dali’s uneasy expression mirrors the viewer’s troubled reaction at being confronted with the reminder of mortality and the temptations of pleasure.

The painting shows five women naked with flat figures, disintegrated planes and faces, inspired by African masks. The compacted space the figures occupy appears to project forward in jagged shards; a fiercely pointed slice of melon in the still life of fruit at the bottom of the composition teeters on an impossibly upturned table top. In this painting, Picasso makes a radical departure from traditional European painting by adaptation of Primitivism and abandonment of perspective in goodwill of a level two-dimensional picture of a plane.

In this essay, I will compare and contrast two different sculptures from two different contexts of art. The first being an Olmec Colossal head (monument 1), from the context of “Art of the Americas,” and the second sculpture being ahead from Rafin Kura. The head from Rafin Kura comes from the context of “Art of Africa.” Both sculptures come from two different time periods and parts of the world. They also are both made with natural materials and have their own symbolic meaning.

The person in this inked art is always a feminine persona who in many cases assume a facial look that is not mean either not too happy. There are many bright colors to this tattoo, and the reason for this is to make it have a bright and meaningful presence. About its meaning, this tattoo represents death but in a positive manner. The flowers in the Girl Sugar tattoo are used to symbolize the power in life; the cobwebs are meant to deliver the meaning of chain of death, while the burning candles placed in the eyes of the female person is supposed to show a sign of remembrance. If you have that one person who means a lot to you but he or she is no longer there, then the Girl Sugar Skull tattoo is the inked art you should go for. It delivers the power of remembrance in a powerful, ever present, and a bright way that leads to positive

In terms of subject matter, both works are visual depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In each painting, Christ is the central figure, surrounded by two groups of figures. On the left, a group of women that includes the Virgin Mary mourns over the dead body of Christ, while on the right is a group of soldiers and other lamenters. Both works feature a rocky landscape on which the figures are positioned. Encircling Christ are several angels whose gestures of lamentation echo those of the figures below. Highlighting the severity of each scene is the blood that pours from Jesus' wounds. The blood from his feet drips onto human bones that are embedded in the rocky terrain below. The skull serves as a "memento mori," or a reminder of death, an idea that has been repeated in several other depictions of Christ's crucifixion.

context such as race and gender, and the history of the painting. In addition, I will be

The shelf between them adds interest with the now outdated and unusual instruments, but the whole of the work doesn’t portray any real sense of importance other than historical record. On the contrary, the realistic detail of the piece is amazing and well communicated through Holbein’s excellent use of light and shadow, as well is accuracy of form. The light source is centered behind the artist and shinning directly onto the men and desk, illuminating their figures. Both man and desk cast a simple shadow to aid the concept of full illumination, but the textures of the clothing, curtain, instruments, and other items are expertly portrayed in the artist’s use of small harsh shadowing and his blend of shading. The large, contrasted, elegant portrayal of the left man’s clothing creates emphasis that repeatedly drags the audience’s eye back to this area. Such a vast use of pattern and color, on the other hand, make any other emphasis less detectable and almost allow the oddly placed blur on the bottom to escape attention. Eventually, its lack of balance and seemingly disproportionate look snatch its deserved attention and force the viewer to get creative in recognizing a figure. This is when the side view of the skull can be

The piece I choose to critic is titled “Buscado por su madre” or “Wanted by his Mother” by Rafael Cauduro, no year. This piece is an Oil on Canvas painting that measured 48”x36” located at the Long Beaches MoLAA. The work is presented as one of a few Mexican artists that share an interest in their painting primarily figurative style, political in nature, that often narrated the history of Mexico or the indigenous culture. The painting is one of the first viewers see as they enter the Museum. It is at eye level and demonstrates a superb use of illusionistic realism that it creates the illusion of being real. The painting is of a old Missing poster of a man on a brick wall. What made it stand out in my eyes was the fact that it looked to be a three dimensional object on what looked like real bricks with the words wanted by mother on the top. Cauduro’s piece, in my eyes looked like he literally took a chunk out of a wall, and placed an old torn missing poster of a man on the front and put it out for display. Cauduro uses texture to represent the look of brick by applying thick strokes of paint creating a body of its own as and mimics the look and shape of brick. He also makes applies the same technique on the wanted poster by implying that it is old and torn by again layering his paint to create the

Throughout the article, the author discusses how adolescents are more likely to take risks than children or adults due to the brain. It’s not that teens don’t understand the consequences to their wild decisions, it’s just something teens tend to ignore while making them. Laurence Steinberg, a social neuroscientist quotes “Posit teens are more likely to indulge in risky business because of the way their brains are maturing.” Dramatic changes start to happen in our brains right around the start of puberty. This causes a huge difference in how the brain processes dopamine. Dopamine’s most important functions are motivation and reward but also mediates social and emotional behavior. Increased dopamine produces the desire to perform these behaviors. The brain starts to reduce the dopamine receptors in the

The skull was illustrated with a black Sakura Tech pen, and the purpose of the work was to give a tone of eeriness and mystery. The skull was a reference to death. The dead trees in the background has the similar subliminal message of passing away, or old age.

This painting is a very religious work of art because the skull symbolizes the suffering of Jesus Christ. De

A painting that has captivated my interest is Skull, where I perceive the skull in this painting to represent death and mortality. Skulls are commonly known to symbolize death, thus this painting represents the function that art serves to commemorate the dead. However, this painting can also represent mortality; this artwork shows that life is short and should be lived to the fullest. Likewise, the skull being red demonstrates power because it shows how dominant death can be; there is no escape, and it should be accepted as a force that surpasses human capacity. Nevertheless, the background contrasts with the red from the skull; the dark colors of the background signify all of life’s troubles which should be forgotten. This skull commemorates

Finally, The Weeping Woman considered one of Picasso’s most famous paintings shows a terrified woman staring at something conformed of various tones of different colors; the ways she looks suggests that she is terrified and scared of something; we can see in her eyes that are made out of two spoons how she is almost crying and the way his hands are positions near her mouth gives the impression that she wants to bite her nails. At the same time her face shows two different tones of color where around her mouth the color become blue and white depicting suspense and seems like something causes this fear; it almost looks like a horror movie scene; likewise, her hands show two different sides of her where her left hand shows a beautiful girl but

From the time periods of late1904 to early 1906, Pablo Picasso, one of the most renowned oil painters in history, explored the theme of Saltimbanques upon his canvas medium during his famous Rose Period. Previously, Picasso suffered from depression, which resulted in the era known as the Blue Period, but in 1904, Picasso met Fernande Olivier, who some speculate was the transition from his Blue Period to Rose Period. During the Rose Period, Picasso’s used of warm color oil paints, primarily pink, highlighted the artistic style of Saltimbanques as he depicted circus performers, harlequins, and acrobats that he observed when living in France. For much of his artwork, “Picasso’s eye would also require the stimulus of a visual experience,” and for him, the idea of being visually stimulated by circuses, caught his attention. In order to gather inspiration, Picasso would frequently visit the Cirque Médrano in Montmartre so that both his mind and eyes could be visually stimulated. As his infatuation with Saltimbanques increased, he dedicated a series to them and in 1905, he created his most famous painting of the Rose Period “Family of Saltimbanques.” This painting, standing at 7x8 ft, was considered to be the biggest painting ever produced by Picasso. Using these influences, Picasso was able to create his most impressive works of the Rose Period, “Family of Saltimbanques.”