It takes time.

This semester has been a learning one in all aspects. I have learned that time is a very valuable thing. Today, I had the opportunity to go to London again & it was so much fun! I went inside the National Gallery again, and inside the National Portrait Gallery (which I had not been inside yet). I really enjoyed the Portrait Gallery, and looking at how an artist can capture so much emotion and a story in each portrait through a single moment in time inside a frame. However, the thing I learned most is that it takes time to learn. I was thinking how I have never, until study abroad and being in Europe, had so much time to sit and be in the presence of great and historical art. I love walking through downtown Abilene and going to Art Walk, but there is nothing like seeing a painting so long ago in the sixteenth century, or works by the many master artists such as Caravaggio, Ruebens, Titian, and Michelangelo. 

Today I just sat in the presence of the piece by Raphael, "The Mond Crucifix". This is one of my new favorite pieces. The colors are brightly appealing, the composition is centered around Christ, and it is very interesting. Mary, Mary Magdalene, St. John the Baptist, and St. Jerome are all kneeling around Christ, each person's facial expressions are realistic and full of emotion. This is what I enjoyed most. The painting used to be an altarpiece in the Santa Domenica in Citta de Castello, which I find fitting. This painting caused me to think about how much Mary was hurting, and it shows how Christ was hurting. Angels surround him, and catch his blood in vases as he is hanging on the cross. He could have called them to help him escape this horrible death, but his love for us and will to obey his Father was greater. I am thankful that this message is proclaimed in so many of the art works in the National Gallery, and I hope like I experienced today, that others will spend time with the art and see the glory and splendor of the Lord. 

Musee D'Orsay!

On Tuesday in Paris, I walked around the Musee D'Orsay for a few hours- I could have spent all day long inside the museum! I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about the impressionist movements, and this artistic style is my favorite to look at. I think it is beautiful, creative, and I love the colors that are used. The portrait images and paintings that were found in the Musee D'Orsay were great because many of them were in Paris. Monet painted his piece,  Saint-Lazare Train Station in Paris along with many of the other works. 

Being in the magnificent city of Paris, and since it was my first time to go, made me feel like I knew the artists that I have been studying this semester a little bit better on a personal level. Walking where they had walked, seeing the graves that some were buried in, seeing the same sun that they saw years ago set in the evening time, and the way the shade in the daytime hits the beautiful classical architecture, made me realize where they received some of their inspiration to paint the things they did. I also really enjoyed walking by the amazing gothic cathedral of Notre Dame and then later seeing all the paintings in the Musee D'Orsay with different lighting.  Even looking at the works by Degas of the ballerinas and the paintings of Renoir, made me feel the Parisian culture. More than even just seeing the art, it was neat to feel the culture of the French people and the way the Parisians live on a daily basis, since so many of the artists that I love studied and lived in Paris. I enjoyed learning about the historical content of Paris and just being able to visit the city for a few days. 

life and art collide

Although, in my opinion, this class has been difficult because of all work in the portfolio, I have enjoyed learning about art and exploring more about the question of "What is art?" This past weekend I went to the National Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was exciting to see art works by artists who I didn't know anything about until after reading about them for my portfolio and actually understanding why they created the particular piece and their motivation from the movement they were involved in. 

One artist that I recently learned about was Paul Gauguin. His painting, The Vision after the Sermon or JAcob Wrestling with the Angel is in the gallery in Scotland. This piece was in the Impressionist section of the gallery, even though he is known more for being involved in the Post-Impressionist movement. His interesting outlook on art, the different color schemes he is known for using, and the composition of his art differed greatly from the other pieces of art by Monet and Georges Seurat that were found in the same room. 

Looking at these pieces, in the small room upstairs in the Scotland Gallery, it occurred to me that even today, people have different colors in which they use to paint by living their lives. Everyone has different beliefs, different viewpoints (like the compositions) and this is visible in the canvas of our lifestyles. This may sound silly or even absurd, but these paintings are just little glimpses into the life of these artists. Whether it is something they believe, something they saw that moved them, or something they wanted to convey to someone else, I think it is moving that we are all artists. Though I myself do not paint, I still have feelings and wants to convey. I just communicate them in a different way. I do appreciate the people who paint, and have changed the world because of their artistic talents. I really enjoyed the museum in Edinburgh. 

Stockholm & Revisiting the Tate.

After a wonderful Spring Break week in Stockholm, Sweden I had the wonderful opportunity to go back to London for the day! Jessalyn, Zach and I decided that we would love to go back to the Tate to look around a little more. I felt that last time we went to London that I was rushed, and did not get to spend enough time here. As I was exploring the huge museum, many emotions were racing through my head. I was trying to decide whether I liked the art or not; it is so different from the Ashmolean and from the National Gallery. I felt that these modern pieces went straight to my heart in many cases. 

While in Stockholm, we saw lots of graffiti art, one of which as particularly interesting. It was a black colored stencil of a man eating green peas, and underneath had the statement, "Imagine Peace". This reminded me a lot of Bansky's graffiti work, which is extremely political and makes bold statements that are almost always offensive. The Tate Modern contained many pieces that I had not seen the first time which spoke about war, peace, race, sexuality and many other controversial issues. I do not agree with many of the pieces in the Tate, but I do think it is important to be aware of the things going on in our world. There was one wing of the museum in which slavery spoken about through the art. The pieces were painted in black on a white wall and basically portrayed all African Americans in stereotypes which were not true and were radically offensive, in my opinion. I'm sure that many people who are a part of that culture also, find it highly subjective and offensive. It upset me that this was considered "art". Although I do understand that it is an artists way of expressing his or her opinions about a certain subject, it none the less was disturbing . I liked some of the pieces, but this time walking away from the Tate, I felt angered thinking about the subjects that artists like Bansky and others say about society. 

In the Garden

This past week in Dublin, Ireland over St. Patrick's Day, I had the opportunity to look inside the National Gallery in Dublin. There were many beautiful paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso and other amazing artists, but one portrait that caught my eye was by Michelangelo Merisi, better known as Caravaggio. The painting was of Judas betraying Jesus and the guards taking him under arrest in the garden. 

The painting tells a narrative through each person's facial expressions, eyes, and body language. The view was straight on, but in the center was a Roman soldier's back with armor on his body. It was painted in a way that the audience feels like they are a bystander of the arrest of Jesus. The moon was the only thing lighting the painting, except for one man in the background who was holding a lamp. The moonlight's shimmering glow was shiny on the soldier's armor. Caravaggio's use of light and darkness in the composition is beautifully put together. The highlighting of people's faces, the clothing, the setting of the garden in the darkness all create an extremely dramatic effect on this painting filled with story. 

This painting provoked thought about what it would be like to be standing in the garden when Jesus was arrested. How he so willing let them take him away, even though he had done no wrong. Also, I thought about what made Judas want to betray Jesus. 30 pieces of silver would not be enough for me personally to betray someone that I loved- but I know that there are other ways that I turn my back on friends and on Jesus.  I really enjoyed walking through the National Portrait Gallery in Dublin and seeing Caravaggio's artwork. 

Vienna Travel Break

During the end of the nineteenth century, artists started to use metallic paints. This movement was known as Art Nouveau. In Germany and Austria this movement was better known as Jugendstil. In Vienna, Austria, one artist that is particularly known for this type of artwork is Gustav Klimt. This past week when we were in Vienna we saw replicas of his artwork everywhere we went. He is famous for the painting The Kiss, which shows great emotion with a mixture of realism and modernism. I was upset that I did not get to see this painting in person, but it is still one of my favorites. 

The facial expressions and feet of the woman and man who embrace are very real to me. Their emotions are seen vividly as their eyes are tightly shut and the hands wrap around each other's faces. The mixture between the two and three dimensional work is intrinsically seen in this piece. This could quite possibly be a symbolic underlying statement of the temper and frustration that Klimt felt with the political situation in Austria at the time. The colors in the picture trickle down like a metallic mosaic, in different intricate gold geometric shapes. Ironically, the bright abyss of colors could represent the words that he felt that could only be expressed through an embrace of a lover's kiss. I really enjoy this painting and the style that Klimt uses in all his paintings. 

A Day in Oxford

This past week in the Ashmolean Museum, I encountered a painting by William Turner, an artist who had a deep passion for light, nature, and was particularly known for his landscape paintings. This painting was one of a Street in Oxford that we frequently walk down besides Christ Church College. It is a different style than that of most of Turner's paintings. It contains immense detail with a picturesque blue sky, and shadows from beautiful tall buildings on either side of the street. The painting differs from many of his other works because it tells a story of the daily lifestyles of each person who inhabits the city.  Professors and Fellows walk down the street, possibly having deep philosophical conversations about the lectures they are going to give that day. Others walk along the sidewalk with sacks full of groceries.

One man, climbing up a ladder is doing a repair on the side of the wall of a building. This piece helped me to realize to a greater extent how much history lies inside the city of Oxford. Amazing people who have reformed ways that the country of Britain and event he world think have lived and studied here. Turner traveled to many places- his art shows the different ideas that he received as a traveler. Through his impressionist style, Turner painted the sublime natures of this world through shadows of light with his own Romantic emotions and interpretations. 

valencia

This past week was our first real travel break. A group of us went to Valencia, Spain- it was absolutely and breathtakingly beautiful! Not to mention, it was very fun being there. One thing that I noticed was the different forms of architecture in Spain compared to Oxford. Oxford has lots of Gothic style architecture. The buildings and cathedrals in Oxford each have a very detailed style, the windows, the steeples, the stained glass and immense detail in every corner. The Gothic style was used in the early art of medieval western europe in the 12th to the 14th centuries. 

The Spanish architecture was very different. It seemed as if the Spanish architects were more acknowledging the earlier Renaissance period of architecture. I really enjoyed looking at all the beautiful buildings, especially the Capital buildings and government owned ones. Also, one thing that I adored about Spain was all the amazing wood carved doors. Each door looked like it had taken long periods of time to specially embellish every door with extreme detail. Also, the colors of buildings were different in Spain. Many had Spanish tile on the side of the building with painted blue and bright yellow. The buildings were custard color yellow which brought a happiness to the city along with the bright reds and deep blues that were the trimmings of many of the buildings. The Spanish architecture seems to be more funky and fun to me than the very traditional style that is found in Oxford. 

The Tate

This past weekend we went to the Tate Modern Museum of Art. I have never been to a modern museum, so I enjoyed this very much. In many ways the art is so different. They stylistic elements, the colors, even the subject topics vary from art that you find in the Ashmolean or National Gallery. It was amazing to see paintings by Henri Mattise, Mark Rothko, and Pablo Picasso. I enjoyed looking at the cubism style. One piece that I particularly liked was a woman sketch of Picasso. The sketch was black and white. He depicted the woman in a manner that he saw her. She was beautiful, but not in a realistic way. She looked intelligent by the way he showed her sitting upright in her chair with her hands crossed gently on her knees. This picture is obviously not an exact replica of what the young woman looked like, but it was Picasso's way of seeing her through a different scope. It seems to me that through modern art, an artist has more of an opportunity to show his or her emotions and the picture that crosses through their brain onto the paper or medium they are using. The art is what it is. I feel as if there is more emotion in many of the pieces in modern art because the artists leave the pieces open for interpretation. It is in many ways more vulnerable. 

But what does it mean?

I have been thinking lately about what exactly art means to me. While I am a person of very little knowledge on the subject, I am still interested and in many ways it moves me. For me personally, it is the little things in a painting or a work that allow me to gain insight such as the color, the immense detail embedded to the work, or the meaning, symbolism and thought that is being poured out. 

In the Ashmolean Museum there was a particular painting that stood out to me. It was nothing special or by a renown artist. To be honest, I do not even remember who painted the picture. On the contrary, it is a special painting because it helped me to see from a new angle. It was a picture of the priests in the temple talking and studying together when Jesus went as a little boy during the Passover. Mary and Joseph are in the corner of the frame with frantic expressions upon their faces looking for desperately for their lost son. 

The priests hardly even take notice of the parents in the corner. They are gathered round in a circle, surrounding books and in depth conversation. One man has his back turned away from the audience, which I liked, because it gives the audience the idea and feel that they are looking in on this narrative story. This painting also prompted me to thinking what it would be like to sit around with the priests of this time, to hear what they had to say and learn from them. Better yet, what would it be like to sit around with Jesus, the Son of God as a priest and realize that you didn't have it all together. We, thankfully, have the opportunity and invitation to sit and talk with Jesus everyday. But what would it be like to sit in a room with Him, hearing his voice, looking into his eyes, touching his skin, having him wash your feet. 

To me, this is why art is so amazing. I have thought about these things before, but never have I had a visual image of what this might be like. Reading and thinking something are very different from seeing it. I love this painting because it made these ideas come to life in a beautiful visual form. 

London- My New Favorite City!

This past weekend our class went to London, it was absolutely amazing! (London is by far my new favorite city to ever visit.) We went to the British Museum and the National Gallery. I enjoyed many things in each museum, but my favorite part of the day was walking through and seeing the beautiful paintings in the National Gallery. It was exciting to see the impressionist section of the gallery, filled with works by Degas, Manet, Monet, Renior and many other distinguished artists I was overtaken with thought. One painting that I was most impressed by was "The Ambassadors" by Holbein. This is a painting that I had studied in Art 100 with Dan McGregor, and is much larger than I imagined it to be. I remember learning about it in class, and to be completely honest it was not my favorite painting. However, when I was face to face with the large canvas- full of intricate detail, vibrant color, symbolism and history, my opinion changed about the portrait. I loved the green background with the velvet looking curtain. The eminent men in the painting are wealthy ambassadors from France to England, wearing fine clothing. They stand next to a shelf filled with books, musical instruments, compasses, a globe and absurdly below their feet lies a distorted skull that can only be made out when one stands directly to the right of the painting. This may be a metaphor by the artist on death or some interpret it as "mortality". While this is just a picture, it gives great insight to the men and history of this time. I stood there and thought to myself that these would be very interesting men to have a meaningful conversation, filled with knowledge and wisdom. I wondered what they were like when they lived. They obviously were well educated for the position and occupation that they held during this time period. Although there were thousands of other paintings in the magnificent gallery, this is one that most stands out in my mind. 

class 1

Art comes in various forms, expressions, mediums, and can be found in different places and environments. To me, art  can be interpreted in many ways. It depends on who you are, where you have come from and the circumstances you face when you look at a piece of art. What is so neat about it is that two people can look at the same piece of art work, at the same time, and both walk away with two totally different understandings. I love that you can learn something new from an artist and his or her work every time you look at their masterpiece. 

This past week we visited the Ashmolean Museum. Amazingly, there are pieces of Egyptian artwork from hundreds of years ago, paintings by Van Gogh, Matisse, and many other famous artists. Also, this past weekend a few friends and I visited The Cardiff Museum in Wales. There were rooms and rooms full of artifacts, paintings and sculptures. One painting that moved me extremely was a painting of an angel looking over Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The artist painted drops of sweat and blood on Jesus' forehead as he prayed that night. Not until this moment, when I saw this visual, did the fact that Jesus actually sweat blood for me seem real. The expressions, colors, and details that composed this painting moved me to once again say thank you to my Savior. I am so excited for this semester not only to learn about the history of art and its artists, to see the art, but to also be moved by it and take something with me personally from this class.