Future Art Historians

-Read every single page in the book
-Follow the syllabus
-Study for the tests
-Keep up with your notecards
-Do the study guides
-Pay attention in class
-Enjoy yourself and soak up the art!!!!!

Sacred Space

Katholikon located in Hosios Loukas, Greece exemplifies a church typical of middle Byzantium, the second golden age of Byzantine art. It is small and high shouldered with a central dome on a drum. The cloisonné technique creates the exterior walls, light stones framed by dark red bricks. The exterior walls also feature decoration with vivid patterns probably a technique reflecting Islamic ideas. Curved windows, projecting apses and varying roof lines also adorn the exterior of the church adding energy to the vertical architecture. The plan of the church is the Greek cross, a domed cross in square with four equal-length, vaulted cross arms. The dome is formed with squinches. The interior of the church creates mystique using space, surface, light and dark. The complexity of the interior architecture distracts the viewer from only looking up towards the dome. Katholikon features flat walls and concave recesses, wide and narrow openings, groin and barrel vaults, single, double and triple windows, and illuminated and dark spaces. The architects of middle Byzantine strived to create beautiful yet complex spaces dedicated to religious devotion.

The Dome of the Rock is a very unique sacred space. The name gives it all away, it is simply a dome over a rock. The rock is obviously very important considering it has been given a dome to protect it. It is the first great Islamic building and it is located in Jerusalem. The shrine was ordered by the Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik to commemorate the triumph of Islam. The Dome of the Rock was a marker for the coming of a new religion that was sacred to both Jews and Christians, Islam.  The construction began in 687 and was completed in 692. The Rock itself has many religious ties. It is said to be the place where Adam was buried and Abraham prepared to sacrifice Isaac. It is also the rock from which Muhammad miraculously descended into heaven only to return to his home in Mecca within the same night. The dome sits on the Noble Enclosure, where the Hebrews built the Temple of Solomon that Titus destroyed in 70. The architecture of the dome is a double-shelled wooden dome that is 60 feet across and 75 feet high. The interior walls of the Dome are covered with mosaics. The Dome of the Rock is a beautiful sacred space with many religious ties. 

http://www.bibleplaces.com/domeofrock.htm

http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/CivilizationHamblin&CISOPTR=1894&CISOBOX=1&REC=2

Representations of the Natural World

Primavera by Sandro Botticelli uses motifs from nature to signify the Medici family. Created for Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de'Medici, one of Lorenzo the Magnificent's cousins, Primavera features the symbol of the Medici family, oranges. This tempera on wood painting was probably made to commemorate the May 1482 wedding of Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de'Medici. Primavera portrays love in spring with Venus and Cupid at the center of the composition. To the right the nymph Cloris transforms into Flora, the goddess of spring, wearing a floral gown. Botticelli was a fabulous colorist and this can be clearly seen in Primavera. The sensuality of spring is shown through the brilliant colors and the characters featured within this painting. 

Landscape with swallows, Spring Fresco, clearly uses motifs from nature. Categorized as Minoan art it was created around 1650 BCE and it is one among many that adorn the walls in a private house. It is one of the earliest examples of a pure landscape. No piece of art can have more ties to nature than a landscape but a landscape has so much more to it than just nature. In Spring Fresco the artist tried to portray more than the rocky terrain by capturing the essence and emotion of the land. This landscape is very whimsical and very much spring. The lilies sway in the cool island breezes of Cyclades, Greece as the swallows dart around the vividly colored rocks. Curving lines help create the flow and delicacy of spring in this painted wet fresco. The essence of spring is very much captured within this fresco by a Theran painter. 

http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Primavera.html

The art of the human body

Menkaure and Khamerernebty from Gizeh, Egypt is a stylized version of a king and his wife. The figures are melded to the block of stone from which they were formed. This statue could be called a high-relief sculpture. Menkaure stands in a rigid pose with his arms straight by his sides and his fists clenched with his thumbs facing forward. His left leg is slightly advanced but the unbalance of weight amongst his legs is not recognized in his body. This rigidness was the norm in Egyptian art. Khamerernebty stands in a similar pose but with her right arm wrapped around her husband and her left hand on his arm. This pose shows their marital status. This statue was not created to show emotion but to  "suggest the timeless nature of the stone statue that was designed to provide an eternal substitute home for the ka." This statue of a king and his wife was stylized with the Egyptian standard.  

Polykleitos exemplified his ideas for the perfect human body in the statue Doryphoros (Spear Bearer). In Polykleitos's eyes it was the ideal version of a nude male athlete. Contrapposto is used in this statue but the artist wanted more than the perfect balance of weight. He aimed to impose order on human movement. This seemingly relaxed pose is actually quite complicated. The balance between the person's parts is complex in order to create this casual look. The figure is in motion yet not moving. Polykleitos mastered what he believed to be the ideal nude male athlete or warrior in his statue, Doryphoros. 

http://witcombe.sbc.edu/menkaure/menkauredescription.html

http://www.artsconnected.org/resource/5851/the-doryphoros

Letter Box

A mailbox began as only a simple box to hold letters, it slowly turned into a decorative street ornament for each individual house. Mailboxes made the journey from the wall next to the front door to their own freestanding spot by the street in front of the house. Some people choose a simple metal box but others have quite extravagant mailboxes. Recently I was in Naples, Florida where I saw quite a few mailboxes in the shape of a dolphin. Some people even have mailboxes made to resemble their own houses. There are mailboxes made to look like planes, trains and automobiles. Some simple metal mailboxes are painted to be made into so much more. When you drive down the street you no longer see the same plain mailbox instead you see many different takes on the once simple letter box. Mailboxes are used to signify major events. They are decorated for holidays, parties and the birth of a child among other things. A mailbox has become a way to identify a house not only by the numbers that signify the address but also by the make of the mailbox. Something so simple and everyday has become modern day art.

Body Art

Tattoos have become fairly common within our current world. For some people they are only a mistake but to others it means the world. It is a permanent expression of art upon ones body. It sounds a little crazy to have art inked within your body with needles but it is a beautiful way to express love for something. The television show L.A. Ink follows the life of Kat Von D and her tattoo shop obviously located in L.A.. On the show you see people getting tattoos, some people get portraits of loved ones, others get flowers. There is no limit on what you can get. When each person gets a tattoo on the show they tell the story behind the tattoo. Each one has a beautiful meaning. Kat Von D and her crew of misfit tattoo artists create beautiful works of art on skin. Anything a person can imagine can be transpired onto skin. Masterpieces are made on every inch of the body. Whether it be a cross or a word each tattoo is a modern work of art.

Dance

Dance is a type of artistic expression that every single person can use. Everybody can express themselves through dance from Brady, my five-year-old sister, to Chris Brown, famous artist with dance moves to match. Dance can come from your head, your hands, your toes or your feet. Movement is dance. Dance is art. It takes no skill to dance, simply bob your head or tap your toes and you're expressing yourself through art. There are those who work at it and accomplish moves that I can only dream about. Dance can be taught or made up. It can be done in a group or solo. Art is an expression of self, something that tells a story. Dance always tells a story. Sometimes its the story of a song and sometimes its the story of one's feelings. Shapes are made and emotions are portrayed. Dance can be beautiful and elegant or it can be dark and rough. Dance is one of the best expressions of art because anybody and everybody can do it. The only problem with dance is you can't hang it on your wall like you can a painting or stand it in your yard like a statue. Dance is in the moment art, expressed differently each time it's redone. It can never be perfectly duplicated, everybody's body moves differently. Dance is specific to each person, their very own expression of art.

Personal Expression

Everybody has their own way of expressing themselves and some people do it with their hair. For some women the hair on their head is their own work of art. It could be a fancy up-do or a vibrant shade of red, the way one styles their hair is an expression of art through hair. A ponytail says, "I'm ready for action," and dark black hair says, "leave me alone." Believe it or not, hair is an artistic expression for women. There are women who simply don't care and are going for the chilled out look with dreadlocks and other women who have their hair spick and span everyday. I currently have a braid with beads at the end strung in my hair, some of my friends have feathers, a recent fad. Every time I go to the beach I return with a little more than just sun highlights in my hair. Sometimes its a beaded braid and sometimes its a colorful hair wrap but no matter what it signifies freedom. It is an artistic expression of freedom weaved into my hair. Headbands, hair ties, bows and clips to tie down the loose hairs show a little bit of personal expression as well. Color and cut are the most obvious ways of artistic hair expression. Light, light blonde obviously signifies the dumb blonde look that many women go for. Vibrant, neon colors show an edgy girl and darker browns show sophistication. Hair is an expression of art from style to color.

Anna Wintour by Alex Katz

The portrait of Anna Wintour by American artist Alex Katz can be seen as simple yet very complex. Anna Wintour is obviously the main and only subject of the painting.  Anna is set against a bright background, which can only be described as mustard yellow. Anna sits in the center of the painting facing directly at the artist. Her shoulders are square and her posture seems precise. The painting begins right below Anna’s shoulders. Anna is wearing a light lavender turtleneck. The artist used shadowing around the collar of the turtleneck to show the folds. A necklace dangles around Anna’s neck. The necklace has small turquoise rectangles that appear to be linked together by nothing yet they are still attached. Katz painted Anna’s skin a light, creamy color. He uses slight shadowing on her neck under her chin. Anna’s nose is small and almost blends with the rest of her face if it wasn’t for the shadowing of the nostrils. The quietness of Anna’s nose makes her others features stand out even more.  Her lips are about average size. They are full but not big and they have a nice subtle red color. Anna has a striking purplish blue eye color. The boldness of the eyes makes them the focal point of the painting. The emotion portrayed in her eyes is not harsh, as one would expect from the Editor-in-Chief of the major magazine, American Vogue. Anna appears to be calm and serene and that is only seen through her eyes. The white of her eyes is not a bright white but a creamy color like her skin. Katz painted a thin line of black eyeliner on her upper eyelid that frames her eyes. Above her eyes, partially seen, are her light brown eyebrows. They are pretty much covered by her bangs that completely shield her forehead. Anna’s hair is in the style of a bob that frames her face. Her hair looks delicate and soft through the artist’s long, fluid brushstrokes. Her bob is a light brown color with few highlights and lowlights. All together Katz painted a beautiful and serene portrait of Anna Wintour.

Portal of the Stave church

The wood carved portal of the Stave church is covered with elaborate patterns. The portal is an example of Viking art that was stylized over time. The doors were made somewhere between 1050 and 1070 in Urnes, Norway. The patterns that adorn the portal are mixed with animals. Which animals they are is hard to decipher because of the intricate patterns. The interweaving animals were a Viking custom. The door is covered with thick and thin strings winding around the portal. The wood is precisely carved and almost perfectly intact. The door has faded to a grayish color because of its old age. The image is hard just as the Vikings were yet, it is very beautiful.

Art Lecture- Gloria Gloom

One Thursday night, my friends and I took a trip to the local art museum known as The Frist. Gloria Gloom, an art extraordinaire, was giving a lecture on Impressionism and it's fashions. Gloria made a slideshow of different Impressionist artwork to share with the crowd. Throughout her speech Gloria voiced her opinions and the ideas of the art intellectuals on the fashion within each piece of art. The lecture was completely centered around fashion. Gloria would point out the theme of the fashion in each piece of artwork and explain its significance. The speech was quite enrapturing. It was an hour packed full of Impressionist fashion information.

Star Wars Tympanum

We had an AP Art History project that required us to create a tympanum with any theme we wanted. My partner, Peter Awad, and I chose to do Star Wars for our theme. A tympanum is supposed to inflict fear upon the viewer so the main character of our tympanum is Darth Vader. Darth Vader is featured within the mandola. To Darth Vader's right side we drew the good characters in decreasing rank. Immediately to Darth Vader's right is Luke Skywalker. Next to Luke is Princess Leia. Last, next to Princess Leia is Yoda. To Darth Vader's left is the evil side. There are only two figures. Immediately to Darth Vader's left is Darth Maul and next to him is Jaba the Hut. On the evil side of the lintel there are white droids. On the good side of the lintel there are white fighter pilots with red helmets. On the evil side of the archevolts are white death stars. On the good side of the archevolts are Millennium Falcons. Altogether it creates a Star Wars themed tympanum.

Local Art- Chihuly

Chihuly at Cheekwood is a glass blown masterpiece. Chihuly has created a stunning landscape by incorporating his art into the gardens at Cheekwood. His art of glass blowing takes so much more than most art. Every piece of his art has to be perfectly orchestrated in order for the image to be created. Planning and construction are a major part of his art. Chihuly's art isnt just free-thinking it takes a lot to create something so extravagant.
As you walk through the gardens you experience Chihuly's art at full blast. The glass is discreetly blended into the beautiful plants of Cheekwood but you could never miss one of his pieces when walking through. The bright colors make the glass explode from the green of the plants. Each piece is modeled after the plant that it sits in. Only a few pieces sit alone and those are the pieces that are large in size and in impact. Other pieces of glass sit in boats and in sand gardens but each piece is meant to blend in with its surroundings. Each piece of glass is like nothing else, only mocking its surroundings with great exaggeration. The electrifying colors and delicate extremities fuse together to create something amazing. Chihuly's blown glass has livened Cheekwood's gardens with its extraordinary beauty.

Henri Matisse Die Musik

       Henri Matisse orchestrates his very unique style within Die Musik. The picture plane is hugely broken up by two figures with exaggerated bodies. One figure seated on the left of the painting, the other seated on the right. The overstated bodies of the figures are draped across the furniture that also arranges the balance of the painting. Foliage in the background disrupts the picture with vibrant color set against a black background. A rectangular band of color runs across the painting just above the bottom. A triangle juts out of the bottom of the painting overlapping the band. Each element of the painting intersects another element of the painting. No figure is freestanding, everything is touching, and the image is crowded.

Matisse’s appliance of paint varies. The figures such as, the two women and their clothing, the table, the rug, the guitar, the plants and the arm of the couch show light, thin strokes, almost streaky in areas. These strokes create texture giving the materials quality. The background consisting of the tile, the couch, the pillow and the black backdrop are filled with thick color. The strokes are thin but no longer streaky, the colors are full. The strokes in the backgrounds are strong. In the couch and the pillow Matisse adds thin strokes of paint to show texture within the material. Throughout the painting the paint is thin never thick.

Matisse used only rich colors in his painting. Each color is solid with no obvious hints of other colors. The same sea foam green color is applied to the table, rug, couch arm and the plants. The thickest color in the plants. The tile in the background is somewhere between orange and red, the color of typical Spanish tiling. The mustard yellow of the woman’s shirt matches the yellow of the guitar and the light brown of the woman’s pants matches the bottom of the guitar. The black of the background and the pillow are startling against the brightness of the other colors. The black also forces the other colors to pop and become more vibrant. The other woman’s outfit is a royal blue color that takes up about half of the painting with the ballooning size of her pants. A light yellow, triangular pattern borders the cuffs of her pants. The couch barely shows its true color of white because it is covered with a red blanket. Matisse chose solely solid, full colors.

The mood of the painting is portrayed through the shapes and the colors. The heads of the women are un-proportionally smaller than their bodies making their facial expressions seem not very important. Drawing from the posture of the women the mood is relaxed and at ease. The lines are not sharp and nothing is exact. The effortless strumming of the guitar and the all around calmness gives the painting a peaceful, easy feel.

Coyle Colored Pencil Drawing November 10,2006

Clare Coyle Taylor portrays great emotion through her mishmash of colors and strokes in her colored pencil drawing, November 10,2006. When first examining the drawing the geometric shapes jump out due to their bold outlining. Each shape is exploding with multiple colors fuzing together to create a perplex image. Texture is added through accents of black and other colors. The brightness and confusion of the drawing give it an overall carefree emotion. Coyle isn't afraid to color outside the lines, strokes of hot pink exit the square that encompasses all of the drawing.
The shapes are arranged in no exact pattern but they appear to begin in the upper left corner and extend out. Small squares are drawn within bigger squares which are drawn within bigger squares. There are no repeats within this drawing, every element of it is different. The same colors are used but Coyle blends each color with another making it an original color. Her colors and shapes create an amazing abstract image.