Modigliani and Picasso

The last movie blog of the quarter deals with the relationship between Picasso and Modigliani. Their relationship was very complex. Discuss their relationship as friends and as artists.

I just realized as I was sitting down to write this blog entry, I was conveniently listening to Pablo Picasso by The Modern Lovers. Listening to the lyrics and comparing the Picasso seen in the Modigliani to the lyrics of the song, the description of Picasso are polar opposites. The movie portrays Picasso as a rich, self-centered individual who takes pleasure in messing with the emotions of his "friend", Modigliani. The lyrics to the song, Pablo Picasso repetitively state how Picasso was an attractive man that women admired. There is a lyric in the song that says, "Pablo Picasso was never called an asshole." While watching the movie, however, all I could think of was how much of an asshole he really was portrayed to be.

Moving forward (I am sure the lyric comparison was not as relevant as I had thought), Modigliani and Picasso were well aware of their talents, and while they respected one another, they also had lingering tension due to their competitive behaviors. Picasso seems to envy Modigliani's social popularity, but seems to be unable to resist his strong character. Modigliani views Picasso as an uptight, and conservative character, and enjoys mocking him at times. They appear as polar opposites of one another, Modigliani being a poor free spirit, while Picasso has made a stance in the world and admires his god-like reputation. Their clashing personalities cause them to have a love-hate relationship between one another.

When Picasso and Modigliani visit Renoir, their friendship is seen more clearly. They as artists have similar influences and admiration towards other artists, and even while driving back, they manage to make fun of one another in a lighter manner.

Picasso's admiration for Modigliani as a friend and artist is witnessed by the painting he submits to the competition. While he tends to treat him in bad ways, there is a shift in the analysis of Picasso's treatment of Modigliani. Modigliani as an artist seems less motivated than Picasso, and not as interested in competition and recognition for his work. Picasso, however, sees the greatness in Modigliani's work, and in order to edge him on, has to emotionally harm him. While it seems like a heartless and pointless act in the movie, in fact, it does work in enabling Modigliani to eventually enter in the competition. It is probably true that Picasso does enjoy seeing Modigliani upset, yet there is a plan in the moves that he makes. Picasso does want Modigliani to get the proper recognition, but he also enjoys competing with him.

Modigliani seems to take Picasso's acts pretty seriously, as witnessed by the scene where Picasso finishes painting Jeanne. Modigliani walks out in rage, violently kicking and smashing things. I believe that Modigliani understands Picasso's intent, but does not enjoy how far Picasso goes in order to edge him on.

While they both admire one another, Picasso and Modigliani are polar opposites in personality, yet share common influences as artists. They respect one another in a sense, but tend to disrespect one another in the actions that they make.

The Human Machine Project

This week, the IS 310 class will examine the question posed in Chapter 8 of your Practices of Looking text. We have reflected much of the quarter on the idea of identity. Identity through advertisements, as audience members, as spectators, etc... The final area of identity we will be exploring is culture in a postmodern world. The Human Race Machine is a postmodern project by Nancy Burson. She believes race is not genetic but social. She also thinks her project"Human Race Machine allows us to move beyond difference and arrive at sameness." What does she mean by that? Do you agree that race is social not genetic?

The Human Race Machine is a really interesting project that really hits home to me. Humans get so caught up in the physical appearance of others, that they shadow themselves from the true characters within people of various ethnic backgrounds. Race has turned into a term that is used interchangeably with ethnicity, where ethnicity is used to refer to one's cultural background and social group they belong in.

I totally agree with Nancy Burson that race is social. As humans, we observe all that is around us, and often enjoy interacting with other humans. We weed out similarities and differences, and our use of race has been a social means of trying to categorize ourselves. Chapter 8 of Practices of Looking comments on how postmodernism has included the concept that the body is easily transformable. Sturken writes, "One can change one's gender through cross-dressing or surgery, one can change one's race through changing skin tone and using colored lenses, and one can change one's appearance and shape through gym workouts, liposuction, plastic surgery, prosthetics, or changing one's hormonal makeup" (326). The ability for us as humans to change our identity in so many different ways causes us to question why we would even think about doing so. Society has had a hold on these transformations, causing us to pay attention to our skin tones and whatever ethnic relation they may socially have.

We are all homo sapians and in a biological sense, the fact that people try and define race genetically is actually inaccurate. Yes, you do pass down certain traits from your parents which often relate to the shape of your nose, or color of your skin and eyes. There is no doubt about it. That is not what Nancy Burson is trying to get at though. She is trying to make people aware of the fact that we judge and identify others based on their physicality. We get so caught up on race, that it often is what determines how we view particular ethnic groups.

Nancy Burson's Human Race Machine "allows us tomove beyond difference and arrive at sameness" by revealing the absurdity of classifying humans by their physical appearance. By altering the appearance of a subject and changing their appearance to reflect various different races, Burson causes the audience to understand that minor physical differences do not genetically separate human beings from one another. Genetically, we are all homo sapiens, and we must not let each other down by categorizing one another.

Gallery Visit #3

The final visit to the gallery this week was a bit disappointing for me. I did not particularly enjoy the artwork that was displayed, and I felt that there was a lack of originality in a lot of it. The pieces I chose to discuss in this blog were two pieces I preferred over the rest, and pieces I felt that the artists truly enjoyed producing. The Untitled piece with the leopard in a green background was one piece I felt held more meaning and enjoyment. It also is aesthetically pleasing to me, being realistic, yet simplistic at the same time. The artist puts power in the lines that she uses in order to produce a lot of shape and movement in the piece. She uses only one color as the background, instead of coloring the details of the lines that she uses, creating a very edgy and trendy feel to the work. The detailed pattern of the leopard stops in the middle of the left side, giving a feeling of depth in the piece, and also creating a "snapshot" feel of the leopard jumping in the air. It is difficult to see in the photo I took of the piece, but the artist also colors in the eyes of the leopard, emphasizing the power and strength of the leopard as it looks straight into the eyes of the audience. There is a lot of liveliness and action in the piece, which causes me to enjoy it. The artist did mention in the gallery talk that she enjoys animals and enjoys creating pieces that capture their movement. This piece does exactly that, and intends to create an up-close and personal snapshot of a powerful and beautiful creature. I do like this piece of art, and feel that the artist should have presented more works like these in her exhibit.

First off, I have to say that the photograph of the second piece is of not the greatest quality. As you can see, while capturing the photo, I managed to also capture a reflection of myself taking that photo. I apologize for the quality. Anywho, this piece, along with the rest of the series of photographs she took, caught my interest and attention due to their vintage look and mysteriousness behind them. The photograph only looks at the subject from the chest down, so the audience is not aware of who the subject is, or what expression the subject may be conveying through their facial expression. I loved these photographs because they challenge the audience to look at the subject differently that one is used to. There is so much one can infer from observing ones face, but when observing ones body, it is a bit more difficult at times. The depth in the photograph is what interested me as well, as the brick wall juts out towards the viewers eye. The subject is seen further away from the camera than the wall, and the lines used in the photograph are amazing. There is a contrast between the subject's body that is vertical, and the lines of the brick, being horizontal. Strangely enough, my eyes are first directed towards the wall as a result, and then to the subject. Even though the lines are in different directions, similar shapes are observed. The wall is rectangular, taking up half of the picture, while the subject is rectangular as well and takes up half of the photograph. Texture is observed in the subject's clothing, as there are shadows from the shirt she is wearing. This emphasizes the mysteriousness of the character, and the context in which she is posed. The colors used are also kind of dull, which also emphasize a timeless, mysterious quality, and provide harmony of color to the photograph. The title mentions hiding (excuse me for not writing down the name of the work), which also justifies the artist's intent to convey mystery within the piece. The piece comments on the viewer's reliance on the human face, and challenges the viewer to look more into other aspects of an individual. I enjoy this piece, but I also feel that this particular type of photograph has been done so many times by numerous artists.

Fury and Ray Ban Shades

"Fury Has Been Unleashed"
Honda's ad for their motorcyle, The Fury is an ad that uses several great techniques to attract their particular audience. The ad seems to take place in present day and the setting is not very definitive. Their motorcycle is placed on a road of some sort, and is surrounded by a series of images and torn out pages from magazines. The direct subject of the advertisement is the motorcycle, seen in the center and foreground of the ad. The ad was taken from Spin Magazine (November 2009 Issue), and instantly drew my attention as an audience member. The various pictures that are seen in the ad, surrounding its text all appear to provide some sort of representation on what the word "fury" represents. From the lightning bolts seen on the top far left side of the advertisement, to the monster whose jaws are wide open on the far right, the viewer gets a sense of energy and danger in what is being advertised. There is repetition in the images seen, as they all contain subjects with their jaws open, lightening bolts, or broken glass. The main text looks as if it was a series of words cut out from another ad, and has a very rough and chaotic feel to it. By layering the text on top of the numerous images, it encompasses what the images represent. The text and the images behind the text work with one another, as the text suggests the meaning behind the imagery, while the images support the rough and rugged look to the font style. The red color on the text is not "clean", but has a lot of texture to it. Motorcylists typically are known to be people who enjoy excitement, adventure and danger, and this ad captures exactly that. By naming their motorcyle the Fury, Honda is advertising towards this demographic. The ad suggests that the rush motorcyclists get while riding will be enhanced through this particular model. Its edgy and trendy image suggest perhaps the advertisement is directed towards a younger generation of motorcyclists, and definitely males are mostly directed by the ad. The ad is definitely promoting a lifestyle, where excitement, adventure and power await those who own a Honda Fury. I would assume that the ad is directed towards a younger generation, due to the edgy and trendy background the Another interesting aspect of the advertisement is how the word, "fury" is repetitively seen within the "collage". In doing so, the advertisement emphasizes the depiction of the word and carves the product's name into the audience's mind. The word is seen on the far right side of the image, as well as the bottom. It is also seen in the main text, and its logo is at the very bottom left of the ad as well. I enjoy the aesthetics of the advertisement. I do not ride motorcycles, nor have I ever tried to. Even though I haven't, I find myself responding to the advertisement anyway, impressed by image the ad conveys the product. I believe this ad is very effective. It grabs the attention of the audience through its chaotic feel, and the text blends in, yet pops out of the image in order to invite the reader to further examine the ad.

When thinking about how I should change the ad, the text really gave me great ideas on how to alter the ad. I decided to keep the text, and change the ad's meaning by changing the image. The end result was an ad critiquing the current health care reform, and the overwhelming response that it has had on the American people.

"Never Hide"
The Ray Ban advertisement shown below instantly stood out to me the moment I saw it. The advertisement was found in the March 2010 issue of Spin Magazine. It is simple and straightforward, with a large image of the head of a cartoon, doctored to be "one with the city". The typical features of a person's face are removed and replaced by a "vintage" image of the city streets, while the shades are a city map. Judging by the haircut, the su bject most likely is of the past, or at least represents the pa st. The shades and hair though trendy, are of a vintage 60's style. The words across the subject prove to be very important in the ad, for there is not much of an image to observe. Placing them across the forehead and

adding texture and size to the text, the simple message then is suggested to hold very strong value to the ad. The contrasting yellow and black polka-dotted text "pops" out to the viewer. What is really interesting about the advertisement is the subtle image of a city skyline on the shading of the cartoon's hair as well, emphasizing the character to be "one with the city". The ad is most likely geared towards people around my age (teens-20's). The trendy, city-oriented youth of America most likely responds the strongest with this ad. The Andy Warhol inspired image, along with its vintage references reflects the stylish age in which we currently live in. Vintage is all the rage, and is most easily embraced by fashion-conscious people from the city. "Never Hide" suggests that wearing a pair of Ray Ban shades will inspire you to go out and enjoy the city in all of its glory, youth and style. Ray Ban tries to reinvent the aspect of sunglasses, suggesting that sunglasses are not meant to mask the individual, but enhance the individual by making a strong fashion statement. The ad enables sunglasses to be seen as an accessory that is necessary in expressing and promoting individuality. The sunglasses definitely promote the lifestyle of a trendy city-goer, and Ray Ban presents their glasses as a work of art. I love this ad, and enjoy all of Ray Ban's ads that they have done in the past. The company and their advertising clearing has affected the people they target their products to. Practically every teen clothing store I have been to in the past year has sold "knockoff" Ray Ban shades. The ad does attract its audience, and I am impacted and respond towards the ads greatly. I feel like I can relate with the ads that they produce, due to my interest in style and city life. The image that the shades try and sell is something that attracts me, and the shades themselves seem to have a "pop culture" kind of vibe to them. When seeing this ad, I do want my own pair of Ray Bans, even though there are other knock-offs that look practically the same. The visual image of their ads suggest a lifestyle that interests me, and as a result, I respond in the particular way that they want people of my age to.

Upon deciding how to change the ad, I felt the need to change the words because the image was so powerful. I interpreted the image as society's obsession with the city, and industrial life when I ignored the text. There is a sense of loss with society's connection with the earth, and are constantly being distracted by the pleasures of technology and business.

Corn Fields and Martini Diver

Corn Fields by Kate Varney

I chose to write about this particular piece because I was attracted by the texture and meaning behind it. There is power in the artist's use of color, choosing only green, black and yellow. Using these colors, the artist is able to emphasize the meaning and feeling behind the work, and also create harmony within the piece. The artist creates texture by using tracing paper, and painting with thick brush strokes. The shape and texture brings the painting to life, and also emphasizes the meaning behind the painting. The tracing paper is used to shape the stalks of corn at the bottom of the painting, which direct the viewer's eye from the bottom of the painting, towards the top. While the bottom of the painting has more defined corn stalks, by the middle of the painting, the artist gives strong horizontal green brush strokes, with subtle hints of yellow to give harmony within the work. The black drips of paint provide emphasis of the painting's meaning, as the black oozes into the painting to support the melancholy feeling of the fields. The corn stalks at the bottom of the painting are aesthetically pleasing, but I find the painting overall to not be aesthetically pleasing. The corn stalks at the bottom are very definitive and full of life and texture, but they are then followed by a sense of sick, dark and blurry fields. I do not think the artist intended to create a painting that was aesthetically pleasing, for her intent was to expose her feelings towards America's overproduction and over-consumption of corn. Varney is an artist who seems passionate about the environment, judging by her artist statement, and the painting truly reflects her viewpoint on the food industry.

Martini Diver by Elizabeth Cramer

I enjoy the detail and realistic technique used in the piece. The humor of the piece also caused me to want to write about it as well. It contrasts well with Varney's piece, yet Cramer and Varney both use black to shape and structure their subjects in each piece. Cramer only uses black and white, and space is prevalent within the work in order to divide and define the work. Cramer used 3 pictures from a magazine and arranged them in a way that produced one whole painting. The 3 images do transition well into each other, as Cramer uses a gray, swirly background between the martini and the diver. This background fades into a solid black background, where the sea monster is located on the right. Where solid black is seen on the far left and far right, space is created in a way. Detail is used wonderfully throughout the piece, relying heavily on black as the only color to shape the subjects. I find the painting aesthetically pleasing, due to its detail and continuous smooth feel to it. The meaning of the piece is to provide a steady transition between 3 completely different images. The arrangment of the piece provides a humorous message, that is not really meant to be defined intellectually. I thoroughly enjoy this piece.

Commodity Self

This week, the IS 310 class will examine the question posed in Chapter 7 of your Practices of Looking text. Media theorist, Stuart Ewen, makes a comment on COMMODITY SELF - the idea that we construct our identities in part through the consumer products that inhabit our lives. Do you agree with him? Are you the product of products?

Read all of Chapter 7 to give you the appropriate context to respond.

I do believe that there is a strong weight towards the products we use and who we are. I also believe that as we are possibly products of products, products do work towards what society is. The media and advertisements are constantly surrounding us these days, and we often as consumers are not aware of the impact that advertisements have on us. We are a fast-paced culture that constantly is searching for something different and something that will relate to us. The Mac and PC commercials that are currently being publicized on the television are a perfect example of how we identify ourselves through consumer products. Mac began creating advertisements a few years ago where an average, youthful looking guy represented a Mac computer, while a dorky, business-oriented older male represented the PC. Personally, I felt that after these commercials, along with the rising popularity in iPods, I have seen far more Mac users my age than I ever could imagine. In retaliation, the PC fought back with its advertisements in which "average" Americans of varying race and age claimed, "I am a PC". Advertisements work in order to appeal to what society is interested in. The fact that these advertisements take products and place people's identity with them emphasize this concept that we are the product of products.

Reading Chapter 7, I also came across the fact that artists have taken certain popular products and created pop art out of them. Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein are two popular artists who created works that reflected advertising, and in doing so, brought evidence that we are connected to products and advertising on a personal, emotional level. This connection in turn defines us. Consumer products work with society and emphasize the thoughts and feelings of that society towards it. As we shape the consumer products, they also shape us as well. Nike and its sweat shop scandal caused a lot of consumers to turn away from the product. As a result, there was a large movement towards advertising for products that provided positive working environments, as seen by companies like American Apparel. Super Size Me was a documentary that revealed the unhealthy food that it produced, causing the company to produce practically an entire new menu that in turn was widely accepted by society. Society has, after the documentary shaped through the exploitation of McDonalds, and now generally desires organic, healthy alternatives to food.

We are the product of products, just as much as products are the product of us.

Metropolis and Robert Frost

I was greatly impressed by all the pieces I was able to view at the gallery on Wednesday. When going through the gallery, I felt most drawn towards Billy Fry's work, especially Impressions of Metropolis. The silent movie is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I was lucky enough to watch the film with its original score at the CAPA Movie Series in the Ohio Theatre. I could not resist dissecting this piece and writing about it. Fry's sketching partially titled Robert Frost (I unfortunately did not write the official title down) also sparked interest in me. The title of the blog already explains my general feeling towards both pieces; they are highly different from one another. Although they do have their differences, they also are relatable with each other.

Impressions of Metropolis incorporates a lot of color, shape, and line. I love how he uses pink, black, and blue to produce life within the piece, that would never exist in the black and white movie. There is value in his work in the spacing and arrangement of each panel. I find the piece aesthetically pleasing in that it directs the eye from the clock, to the bottom scene on the right side. Fry uses the same color palette throughout, using balance and rhythm. I find a strong connection with the piece, due to my own admiration for the film. The panels are not quite chronological to the movie, but I do not think that is what Fry was going for in his piece. I am sure he was displaying a tribute to the movie, but while doing so, Fry also captured his own perspective of the movie as an artist. Fry takes "snapshots" of the movie in order to admire the visual aspects of the movie average movie-goers tend to ignore. His use of color reveals a sense of imagination and his own take on the liveliness of the film. With the pipes in the center of the painting, the viewer is reminded of the beginning of the movie, and the control that technology often carries. I am also reminded of Hitchcock's view on voyeurism, as seen in Rear Window. Fry captures aspects of the movie and is able to emphasize them in ways in which the director may not have expected.

The Robert Frost inspired sketch contrasts greatly with Impressions of Metropolis. It is similar in that it provides a "snapshot", yet its technique is entirely different. Fry does not incorporate color into the work, but relies more on line and shape. His only tools are charcoal and a canvas, so he must use the charcoal effectively. I find the piece aesthetically pleasing, capturing a woman posed comfortably, and produced with great use of lines. The subject seems posed artistically, yet effortlessly. I like the thick lines used to enable the subject's body to "pop" out from the background. These lines are emphasized around her legs. Her book and hair seem to stand out in a way that produces a line of vision within the center of the sketch. Fry did comment on the piece, stating that it was inspired and produced through a nude model's unique decision to pose reading. Being an English major as well, the pose connected with him. I saw an intimate side to the sketch, as she is dressed in a robe simply reading. The concept of voyeurism is yet again displayed in the sketch, for normally one does not think of watching somebody read, especially while they are most likely somewhere alone. The beauty of her and her book are emphasized and admired in the sketch.