Hiawatha

Hiawatha

Augustus Saint-Guadens (American)

1874

Agustus Saint-Guadens is a sculptor who has sculpted many great works of art, manyof  which are displayed in famous locations such as: Madison Square, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, and The Boston Commons.He also is the designer of the twenty-dollar "double eagle" gold coin/piece (considered the most beautiful America coin ever issued, as well as designing the Ten Dollar "Indian Head" gold eagle (coin).  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus_Saint-Gaudens)

This Sculpture, Hiawatha was inspired from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poem: The Song of Hiawatha, and depicts a Chippewa chief, pondering while sitting on a rock, leaning up against a tree, with his bow and quivers nearby. (http://www.metmuseum.org /toah/hd/astg/ho_2001.641.htm). 

Saint-Gaudens uses Marble to create this spectacular sculpture. He uses many textures, but the most prominent are visible on Hiawatha's hair and feathers, the rock and plants beneath him, and the tree that he is leaning on.

To distinguish Hiawatha's hair from his face, Saint-Guadens makes a hair texture by "scraping." This similar technique is also visible on the feathers in his hair and the fletching (feathers) on his arrows. 

For the rock underneath Hiawatha, it looks like Saint-Guadens used a small chipping tool, or a pointed tool to make small indents in the marble, to give it a "rocky" (looks like coral) appearance.

For the tree, Saint Guadens not only makes the tree look like a tree, but because of his technique, he is able to illustrate the exact type of tree. The Birch Tree that Hiawatha is leaning on, is textured so well that the view is able to depict the loose bark and "ringy" texture of the Birch tree.

It is evident that Augustus Saint-Guadens is an incredible sculptor and uses textures extremely well to make his carvings "animated" and have the impression of reality.

Note: Awesome Zoom Feature  (Click for link)

Step on Board

"Step On Board"

Fern Cunningham (American)

1999

Fern Cunningham is an Art teacher at the Park School in Brookline, Ma, and also is a sculptor.  Focusing on African-American history in her sculptures, "Step on Board" is an inspirational sculpture of Harriet Tubman marching forward, "gaze set firmly forward toward the goal of freedom for herself and the group of slaves who follow her." (www.salemstate.edu). It symbolizes the power of the goal of freedom and leadership. This is shown through the placement and hand positioning of Tubman and her foot "in front of"/"leading" the sculpture (leadership), and the sense of unity of characters in the back (all have the goal of freedom). In addition, the facial expressions and "body language" of the characters portrays perseverance, hardship, and also leadership, all of which the slaves and Tubman had to "endure." The artist does an amazing job of illustrating the story of Harriet Tubman and the slaves and makes the viewer inspired to be a leader like Harriet Tubman.

Similar Paintings (Present and Past)

Andy Roddick

Quwatha Valentine (American)

2006-2007

Lawn Tennis

Constant Mayer (French)

1883

Similarities:

These two paintings are over 100 years apart, yet they have the same theme/topic; tennis. In both, we see people in the action of playing tennis. We see part (or all) of the tennis court, and we see players hitting in the action of hitting the tennis ball. Something very interesting is that both Andy Roddick and the woman who is hitting the ball in Lawn Tenns both have their knees in the same position. Their knees are bent at almost the same degree. Additionally, many of the people in Lawn Tennis have white hats similar to Andy Roddick's. Both authors use darks and lights to show perspective and dimension.

Differences:

In Andy Roddick (the first) the focus is on one player (Andy), while in Lawn Tennis (the second) the emphasis is mainly on the game of tennis itself. The mood is also different. In the first, there is a strong sense of concentration, focus, and intensity; while in the second, there is a "lighter" feeling, where tennis is like a get together, and a social event. There are many people just chatting, eating and drinking, watching, and relaxing.

Artists' Visions Similarities:

I believe that both of the artists are trying to make a statement about tennis, and are trying to depict certain aspects of the game. For example, Quwatha Valentine, illustrates the competitive game of tennis by illustrating one of the best players. However, in Lawn Tennis, Constant Mayer is depicting the game of tennis as a social, and fun even, where everyone can participate. 

The main aspect of these paintings that connects them is there theme of tennis.

Family

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit

John Singer Sargent (American/Italian)

1882

This painting by John Singer sargent is not of an entire family, but of the four daughters of the family. This painting's depicts family in a strange way. All of the daughters are "isolated"; aloof from each other. However, at the same time, we (the viewer) have a strong sense of connection. Mr. Sargent may be trying to show that even if a family is not "together," they are still a family. In addition, it may be showing that each member of the family is not the "same," but  there is still a sense of unity.

John Singer Sargent uses many of the principles of design to communicate these points. He utilizes the principle of emphasis by using placement and grouping. The placement of the daughters makes each daughter stand-out "individually." Also by grouping the two daughters in the back does show some unity. Singer also uses contrast to make the daughters stand-out. In the back, the darkness makes the two girls stand out, and the darkness of the girl on the left makes the "difference" between the two girls. In addition, the contrasts of colors of the daughters' shirts shows their "differences" (in preferences).  There is also the principle of balance in this painting (asymmetry). The two daughters together are in the middle, and on each side of them, there is one other daughter. This balance creates the sense of family and unity because balance is a symbol that can represent family.

Although this painting does not depict a mother and father, there is a family within a family when the children are pictured, and they in fact may be a microcosm or representation of the "complete" family.

Nighthawks

Nighthawks

Edward Hopper (American)

1942

First Impressions:

When first observed this spectacular painting by Edward Hopper, what first caught my attention were the three customers inside the diner, especially the man seated alone. Then, I took notice of the empty street and the glass window that "surrounds" the diner. The window is very interesting because the glass is so expansive, it made me look through it and at the same time, try to find an end. Trying to find an end was "hard" because the glass "cleverly" curves "away." It is not the only thing that curves around that corner; the table, the benches (the light/bright green) the olive green outlining, the shadow and the sidewalk. I believe that this makes you "start over," or looking at a different part of the painting, because this aspect is "annoying" to the (or at least) my human brain. I want something to end but nothing does. Additionally, the table is a triangle and will also "never end." When I look at this picture, I feel as if there is an off balance of "stuff" in this painting. The right side is emphasized, because this part of the painting is "weighted" and also it is different than the peaceful, empty side of the left side of the painting. Because the right of the painting seems as if it is "cut off," I often find myself looking to the far right and wanting there to be "more" of this painting, maybe because I want it to balance it out, and have the center of the painting as the emphasis. Nighthawks was definitely made the way it was for a reason, and it is certainly a magnificent painting to explore.

What I Learned:

Nighthawks is inspired by a diner that was in Hopper's home neighborhood, in Greenwhich Village, Manhattan, New York. This painting is in many aspects related to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred right before Edward Hopper created this painting. As noted by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks , there is the same feeling of gloominess in this painting as there was across America. As said by http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_Modern/pages/MOD_7.shtml,"painting reveals three customers lost in their own private thoughts." Hopper states: "unconsciously, probably, I was painting the loneliness of a large city." In this painting there is no door (visable) and it seems as if: "The viewer, drawn to the light shining from the interior, is shut out from the scene by a seamless wedge of glass." (http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_Modern/pages/MOD_7.shtml) As said by http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/nighthawks/index.html, "no matter what the setting, Hopper painted from the outside looking in." When looking at this painting, you feel almost excluded, and everyone inside of the diner seems to be "in their own world," excluding the others around them. Better put is what is written by http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/nighthawks/index.html: "Behind the windows, a busboy stoops behind the counter, while three patrons, a man with his back to the window, and a couple facing out, sit in apparent silence. No door is visible, so even if a passerby wanted to interrupt their solitude, it would be impossible. There's just enough detail -- and just enough hidden -- to give viewers the opportunity to create back-stories for the nighthawks on their own." This painting truly does reflect solitude, and it does make us want to know the true story behind and about this painting.

This painting is Oil on Canvas, and is 84.1 x 152.4 cm.

Add-on:

Hopper creates a sense of unity by having everything in the painting either complement something else in the painting, by having the "lines" in come back, and by giving us a focal point. In this painting, the compliments are contrasts. We have a diner with a few people in it (some movement) on the right side, and on the left side, there is no sign of human life or any movement (three-quarters of the painting is "empty"1). This contrastive unbalance, in a sense creates balance. The leading lines of this painting does not necessarily lead to any place particularly, but because they do not "end," they bring the viewer back and forth among them, therefor settling the eyes in the middle of them. The focal point in this painting is the cafe, and by using all of the ideas presented above, Hopper makes this the focal point. The contrast of life, the contrast and the bright light from inside the diner to the darkness outside. I personally think that the man with his back turned to the viewer is the main emphasis of this painting because he is the only one wearing completely dark clothes, and he is "singled-out" (grouping). Hopper intelligently pulls this painting together with these attributes of unity.

1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks

Reflection

The first term of art has been really incredible for me. I feel like I have been evolving in not only the way I think about art and create art, but also in my mind set about art. Gradually, I have been getting better and "letting go" and just "arting" (new word!). I have become less focused getting everything "perfect," and more on just focusing on the main task and I have become more focused when I do my art work. In better words, I have become more free with my art, and more "experimental" and trying new techniques and thinking in different ways. One of the main inspirations are Monday "Drop everything and Draw Days." When I first started, I was so intent on getting everything "exact,"that I was always behind and "disappointed." Gradually, I have started to be more "free" and even though the art work may not be as great, I feel better when I am creating it and I feel more relaxed and optimistically. Even though these final products are not Picasso's masterpieces or maybe not as great as before, they are really helping me in the other projects that we are doing. From being open, I have learned new techniques and also what not to do, which are all contributing to my better art work. I feel like this was a step back, and then two steps forward. Thomas Edison when inventing the lightbulb failed multitudinous times until he finally got it said, "I did not fail, I have just found two-thousand ways to not create a lightbulb." He also said, "I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2000-step process." That is how I feel about this first term of art. I feel that everything that I have done in art class so far, both "good" and "bad," are just a process of making me better. In tennis, one very important lesson is learning not to judge something as "good" or "bad," but what is important is observing, and learning from the "positives" and the "negatives." I believe that I am gradually starting to do this in art class, each time that I pick up a paintbrush, a pensil, charcoal, or any object in the class room. I really feel like if I keep this up, I can really accelerate in the next term, maybe a step a step forward each time, or maybe  by taking one step back, and then two steps forward.

If I could do any of the projects again, I would do the either the value drawing or the painting portrait another time. Even though the value drawing was not my favorite project to do, I really think that my drawing skills need a lot of improving. I would really like to continue learning (about) and working with value to show perspective, time, mood, temperature, etc. I find it fascinating that value can create and add so much to a drawing, painting, or any form of art. I believe that by working on this topic more, I can really improve other aspects of my art. My two favorite projects were the Collage and the Portrait. I would want to do the Portrait painting and color over again because I really like how color can symbolize so much and can add so much to any work of art. Carianne Mack taught me something very intreguing about color. I learned that there are 100 red somethings in your Iris, to about 36 yellow, to 5-10 blue pigments (or something) that makes you percieve the way that you perceive the colors the way you do. Red is strong and "stands out" and is bold (because you have so many red "things" in your eyes."  Yellow is the "medium color" that is bright, but not intense and that attract your eye in a "medium"sense. Blue, the lowest, calms you eye and your body, and is cool, peaceful, and commonly used as a background (sky) for this reason. It is not he color that is going to attract your eye strait away. I find this fascinating, because I can also apply color to my everyday life. From books, to paper, to cooking, to designing, and to almost any thing that has color you can apply what color "means."

During this term, I/we have definitely researched and investigated many artists and their works. They are all "different" and so is their art work. My favorite is Andy Goldsworthy. I really like how he uses simple objects from nature to create such enchanting works of art. He also really uses everything to his advantage, and "thinks outside the box." For example, his work Knotweed Stalks (see previous post) uses the reflection of the stalks in the water to create the rest of the sculpture with incredible precision. Another one of his works, Rowan Leaves and Hole (click here for this painting and many of his others) is an extremely enticing, colorful, alluring,  and beautiful masterpiece of art by just using leaves from a Rowan Tree. I am captivated by how he uses the colors of nature to create such spectacular works.

Thanks so much for a great first term!

Kristopher.

Knotweed Stalks

Knotweed Stalks
Andy Goldsworthy (British)
1988

First Impressions:
This is a really cool sculpture. To me it reminds me of a window or a hole. The scene looks really spectacular and the background compliments the sculpture. This sculpure looks like it is sticking into the ground out of the water. When I first looked at it, I thought it was an "impossible" sculpure. I could not seem to figure out hiw Goldsworthy had made it. Then after looking at the discription (my bad) I found out that the bottom part was really the reflection of the stalks above the water. This three-dimensional object truly amazes me as the thought of using the reflection of the water to create symetry was truly brilliant and inspirational. It is also really cool how the whole makes the sculpture look as if it concaves in, towards the hole. The hole draws an incredible amount of attraction (to the eye). I am inspired by this sculpture and the way the Andy Goldsworthy used nature to create such a magnificent masterpiece.

What I Have Learned:
As mentioned above, it is really neat how Andy Goldsworthy used the reflection of the water to "complete" the sculpture. Andy is an artist that uses and "collaborates" with nature to create his creations. He features his art work as "momentary" or "ephemeral"1. He photographs his creations as soon as they are finished. As said by morning-earth.com, "His goal is to understand nature by directly participating in nature as intimately as he can." Andy will use whatever he has (nature wise) to create his amazing and beautiful works of art.

Here are some of his words about his art work:
"I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools--a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. "

"Looking, touching, material, place and form are all inseparable from the resulting work. It is difficult to say where one stops and another begins. The energy and space around a material are as important as the energy and space within. The weather--rain, sun, snow, hail, mist, calm--is that external space made visible. When I touch a rock, I am touching and working the space around it. It is not independent of its surroundings, and the way it sits tells how it came to be there."

"I want to get under the surface. When I work with a leaf, rock, stick, it is not just that material in itself, it is an opening into the processes of life within and around it. When I leave it, these processes continue."


"I enjoy the freedom of just using my hands and "found" tools--a sharp stone, the quill of a feather, thorns. I take the opportunities each day offers: if it is snowing, I work with snow, at leaf-fall it will be with leaves; a blown-over tree becomes a source of twigs and branches. I stop at a place or pick up a material because I feel that there is something to be discovered. Here is where I can learn. "

"Looking, touching, material, place and form are all inseparable from the resulting work. It is difficult to say where one stops and another begins. The energy and space around a material are as important as the energy and space within. The weather--rain, sun, snow, hail, mist, calm--is that external space made visible. When I touch a rock, I am touching and working the space around it. It is not independent of its surroundings, and the way it sits tells how it came to be there."

"I want to get under the surface. When I work with a leaf, rock, stick, it is not just that material in itself, it is an opening into the processes of life within and around it. When I leave it, these processes continue."

"Movement, change, light, growth and decay are the lifeblood of nature, the energies that I try to tap through my work. I need the shock of touch, the resistance of place, materials and weather, the earth as my source. Nature is in a state of change and that change is the key to understanding. I want my art to be sensitive and alert to changes in material, season and weather. Each work grows, stays, decays. Process and decay are implicit. Transience in my work reflects what I find in nature."

"The underlying tension of a lot of my art is to try and look through the surface appearance of things. Inevitably, one way of getting beneath the surface is to introduce a hole, a window into what lies below."

Sources: http://www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html
Picture: http://prettisculpture.typepad.com/photos/other_artists_3/goldsworthy2.html