Looking at Hugh Hefner's Portrait from Various Lenses Essays

Artists in the early 1900s commonly utilized techniques of distortion and exaggeration, characteristics of expressionism, to establish the element of emotion. According to Wolf (2017), expressionist artists often incorporate “swirling, swaying, and exaggeratedly executed brushstrokes to convey the turgid emotional state of the artist reacting to the anxieties of the modern world” (p. 1). Amplification of the human figure often evokes strong emotions for audiences of many different cultures. Additionally, the style reflects the consequences of urbanization, such as the alienation of individuals in society (Wolf, 2017). Expressionism allows artists to surpass realism and reflect the tribulations of living in a modern society.

In Andy Warhol we see a sense of shame, but also acceptance and contentment by the light clasp of his hands, and the slight straining of his shoulders. His eyes are closed, which could either be out of fear of being seen, or a sense of peace at finally being seen. His lips are delicately pursed, which, again, shows that he could either be fighting the urge to cower and hide, or his own frustration with this desire, and his determination to continue. In addition to these many subtle expressions of emotion, we know that the actual man was known for his cool and confident attitude, which tells us just how much of a big deal his utter vulnerability truly is. Neel has stripped all outside masks, and has unearthed the frightened, old man beneath Warhol’s suave persona. Conversely, we see nothing but aloofness and an impassioned gaze within Schiele’s Self-Portrait with Chinese Lantern. Schiele has drawn himself looking at the viewer with his chin held up and his shoulders tilted back, an aura of complete confidence and self-importance all but oozing out of him. His face seems to ask, “Is that all that you’ve got?”. The placement of his arms belies his face though, for they’re tightly bound around his front, near his waist, showing that he may not be as self-assured as he

According to Tolstoy, the true purpose of art is connected to our abilities to feel emotion. “To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then, by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit that feeling that others may experience the same feeling - this is the activity of art” (Tolstoy,66 ). Much like food is necessary for sustenance, art is necessary for our sympathetic capacities. In order for this form of communication to occur, the artist must have the capacity to express and transmit through his art, while the audience must have the capacity for sympathy in order to feel the artist’s expression. According to Tolstoy, simply transmitting an emotion is not enough to define art. A true work of art must be infectious to its audience and be able to express individual feelings lucidly and purposefully.

Expressionism sought to give shape to emotions through stylized visuals, particularly using high contrast lighting and exaggerated colors, lines and shadows, most of the examples given before. The style combines moral values and emotional expreience. It is a unique and very different style of art.

How does your piece of art communicate, evoke, or inspire? What do you think the artist was trying to say with his or her work?

Since the beginning of time, artists have labored extensively to find innovative ways to convey sentiment, passion, and feeling. Telling stories and trying to unlock the minds of people through different avenues of artistic labors. Art touches and affects people in unique ways; it can have special or unusual meaning on the person depending on how one views it. Artists’ rendering of their art is interpreted in numerous ways by others who view it unless it is explained by the artist on its meaning giving a clear example of what they are portraying. Two people looking at the same painting, sculpture, portrait, or photo may come to different views on the arts meaning even though they are looking

Men are supposed to act strong and emotionless, a historical expectation in American society. Post- World War II fear and alienation haunted American men (Perchuk 1995:35). Pollock’s method to alleviate fear through his paintings is the response to the historical happenings during World War II. The war mentality decreased masculinity as the men were able express “weak” emotions.

Art has evolved and regenerated itself many times during our human existence. These differences are defined through changes in styles under various theories. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a style known as Expressionism became popular. During this movement the artists were trying to use their artwork as a tool of expression toward life. It was mainly dominant in the nonrepresentational arts, such as abstract visual arts and music. It also was probably one of the most difficult movements to understand because the whole point of the piece lay within the artist. Not only was it a movement, it defined the act of art as a whole. From the beginning of time, each work of art, excluding replicas, show a way of expressing

When you go to an art show do you understand the symbolic interpretation of the pieces? Don’t feel bad, most people don’t. What’s so upsetting about that is that you really miss out on the experience. When I think about interpretation of art I think of Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol’s use of iconography changed not only the art world but the people who came into contact with his art. Once you understand his life and art, you will understand his art as a symbolic representation.

Human emotions remain as one of the world’s biggest secrets. Like sleep, we know what happens to our body when we experience these emotions whether it be a release of hormones or a certain area on the body becomes more sensitive. But we don’t know why we have them, experience them, or what purpose they serve. All we know is everyone’s emotions behave differently. Different types of arts can elicit completely different emotional response from people. Some art may have the ability to appeal to dangerous emotions in certain people. Whether it be the corruption of a once faithful and beautiful young girl, plagued by the desire for romanticism and lofty ideas, or a handsome young nobleman who is obsessed with living life to fullest. Both are fueled by the emotion that a certain type of art elicits in them, leaving them in a never ending chase that ruins there life’s. In the Novels Madame Bovary and The Picture of Dorian Grey the protagonists in these stories perfectly exemplifies the danger of arts emotional appeal by showing the corruption and eventual downfall of two once young and beautiful souls by exposing them to art that pleases dangerous emotions such as desire, pleasure, entitlement and disappointment.

Hugh Hefner was an extraordinary innovator, entrepreneur and revolutionist. The sex obsessed pop culture and generation can recognize the seed of its foundation for being planted by a man who chose to do as he wished. Still yet to be uprooted despite its negative nature, the media has embraced sex as a great advertisement. Hugh Hefner fits into a special category of leadership called transformational. Transformational leaders enhance their followers’ morale and performance through various avenues and that’s exactly what Mr. Hefner completed. In a world where public indecency was frowned upon and sexual behaviors were kept behind closed doors, Hugh Hefner did the unthinkable. Although Hefner was successful in his career, he was not always

In his book Languages of Art, Nelson Goodman in his own words: “sought to establish a connection between his own interests in the arts with his own inquires into the theory of knowledge”. (cite). In doing so, he created a method that clarifies the symbol systems functioning within an artwork. Nelson Goodman took issue with the terminology associated with the pictorial arts such as denotation, resemblance, expression, and representation. Goodman believed that the precise definitions of these words were becoming muddled in discourse about the arts and as a result the public was starting to lose the essence of the terms themselves. He summarized these ideas with his emphatic declaration at the beginning of Languages of Art: “Representation is a matter of denotation while expression is somehow a matter of possession” (cite). From the beginning of his book he establishes the difference between these types of symbolism to emphasize the

Abstract Expressionism is making its comeback within the art world. Coined as an artist movement in the 1940’s and 1950’s, at the New York School, American Abstract Expressionist began to express many ideas relevant to humanity and the world around human civilization. However, the subject matters, contributing to artists, were not meant to represent the ever-changing world around them. Rather, how the world around them affected the artist themselves. The works swayed by such worldly influences, become an important article within the artists’ pieces. Subjectively, looking inward to express the artist psyche, artists within the Abstract Expressionism movement became a part of their paintings. Making the paintings more of a representation

The most important trait in defining art is its beauty. As complex as the term “art” can be, the term “beauty” is nearly just as complicated. In order to understand art more clearly it is important to understand beauty. “We label an object beautiful because it promotes an internal harmony or ‘free play’ of our mental faculties; we call something ‘beautiful’ when it elicits this pleasure.” (Freeland 8). As defined above, beauty is not a direct message. It is something that subconsciously allows man to feel good and pleasurable. There is “an internal harmony” when we observe something beautiful that allows us to take away a deeper understanding of a work of art regardless of it being “nice looking” or “ugly”.

“Painting today is pure intuition and luck and taking advantage of what happens when you splash the stuff down. “- Francis Bacon. However when I learnt more about history of art and the way each movement and happenings in the world inspired artist to make new works, I was able to see much more than just a canvas with random paints and sketches. The interesting part about this concept is that each piece of art could be interpreted in many different ways. In contemporary art there isn’t right and wrong, each of us view and find different meanings and connections with artworks.