Maddison Wright

Intro to Art History

12/5/2013

Extra Credit 3

Zaha Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad to a secular family. Before she took on architecture as her career Hadid studied mathematics at the American University in Beirut, Lebanon and advanced studies for architecture at the Architectural Association School of Architecture. There she became influenced by the Russian avant-garde painters and concluded “modernism was an unfinished project.” Finally in 1980 Hadid had her own architecture practice where she wanted to express not traditional but dynamic and interesting architecture. When the 21st century came her and her practice only but had one architectural building made and many winnings in competitions. She became labeled as a “paper architect,” for she spent years thinking up building designs yet because she did not test them they were seen as “impractical.” Zaha Hadid believes these years where they had more ideas written on paper than building structures in the actual world was good because it was the base for how successful her and her practice would soon become. For in the 1990’s her dedication was beginning to shine through by building structures such as: the Bergisei Ski Jump in Austria, built in 2002, the Center for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, 2003, the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany, 2005, and the BMW Central Building in Leipzig, Germany, also built in 2005. Following these amazing achievements   in 2004 she was the first women to be awarded the “coveted” Pritzker Architecture Prize. 

In 2009 Hadid constructed the Burnham Pavilion in Millennium Park, Chicago. This contemporary structure was purposefully built so that it can be taken down and transported if desired. Burnham Pavilion is “made of panels of fabric zipped tight over a framework of bent aluminum and steel tubing. Fabric is stretched over the inside of the pavilion as well, where it serves as a projection screen for videos.” The side of the Burnham Pavilion reminds me of a sea shell with nice colors shining from the structure. Colors of light shine on the structure showing green, orange, blue, and violet. 

Today Zaha Hadid is very successful as she has projects coming up in Europe, the US, the Middle Ease, and Asia. Simply putting how she feels now opposed to working her way to the top Hadid states, “We’re having fun now.”

Cited

Getlein, Mark. “What Is Art?” Living with Art. 10th ed. Boston, 

MA: McGraw Hill, 2008. 37-46. Print.

Zaha Hadid, Burnham Pavilion, 2009, Chicago

Zaha Hadid, Bergisei Ski Jump, Austria, 2002

Maddison Wright

Intro to Art History
12/4/2013

Extra Credit 2

I visited the UCR/ California Museum of Photography and saw many amazing pieces of work. On display was Eadweard Muybridge’s “The Horse in Motion, 1878” and if you spun the circle you could see the motion of the horses running. These are the moments I appreciate what I learned in Art History - so I can be knowledgable of the history behind these important artists showcased. This museum had many different levels and when you walked up to the second level you could still see the photographs on the first floor in clear view, just in a different aspect. 

One of my favorite series of photographs taken in 2011 by Katy Grannan showed what seems to be many troubled individuals, some even with their child. Such as one man holding a cigarette in one hand and his daughter wrapped around his arms. The man seems to have a look of despair on his face while not knowing how to support his daughter - his daughter, who has a look of confusion while gripping onto her father. 

Another one of Katy Grannan’s photos was of an exotic women with her disheveled hair blowing across her face. Her forehead had wrinkles as her eyebrows curved downward with a worried look. Her lips as well curved downward - not knowing what to think or do next. This women’s hand is lightly grasping onto some strands of her hair, showing her insecurities as her arm is across her face. To me this shows her inverted personality. 

Both of Katy Grannan’s photos that I have discussed looks as if she took them along a beach shore. The father and daughter are both wearing swim suits/ swim trunks and the exotic women has tangled curly hair that looks damp. The beach can be a place of relaxation and partying, however it is also a place where many people who are in need of help/ homeless go to live for some time.

A photograph I found to be both beautiful and dark was called “Aspens, Northern New Mexico,” taken in 1958 but not yet printed until 1978. The clarity of the photo allows one to focus more on the negative space contrasting to the single white tree to the left. This photographer’s name was Ansel Adams; a former pianist. In 1930 he switched careers to pursue his other passion, photography. He soon co-founded a photography group called f/64 and focused on the nature across the American West. 

I have always took an interest in photography but soon became sidetracked by other art means. Visiting this museum has somewhat sparked my interest in photography once again - hopefully I can find the time to dive back into this art. 

Katy Grannan, Untitled, 2011

Katy Grannan, Untitled, 2011

Ansel Adams, Aspens, Northern New Mexico, 1958 (printed 1978), Gelatin silver print

Maddison Wright

Art History

12/3/2013

Extra Credit

Riverside Art Museum

While visiting the Riverside Art Museum I was shocked by the bold architecture of the Museum and very interested in the unique exhibits. Everywhere I looked I found something I could admire, whether if it was the decoration of the lights, water fountain, plants, or the actual art works themselves - there was always something to look at. There were two exhibitions up for show; one was titled “About Hunger & Resilience,” and the other just had the number “52” to represent the exhibit. The photographs taken by Michael Nye, in her exhibit “About Hunger & Resilience,” showcased fifty photos. Each piece was a photograph of a person who dealt or was dealing with hunger. The experience of hunger seems to be one of Michael Nye’s passions. He was so influenced by the effects of others not being able to have enough to eat - which is a necessity for our survival. Every person I encountered I could almost feel some of their emotion through their eyes and way they were posed. One of the first photographs I came to almost made me cringe. Her name was Tiffany and she had one off centered gap in her teeth, tattered overalls and shaggy hair - with one strand of hair lightly falling in front of her face. Her eyes showed despair and hardship; her body language showed her helplessness as her hands bent over the straps of her overalls. Clenching onto her clothing it seemed as if she was searching for support. Another photograph in the exhibit was taken of a fourteen year old girl named Josette. Her story, like all of the others, was heart wrenching. The sadness in her one visible eye and lips said it all. She is pouring out through her facial features the undeniable helplessness she feels. Josette talks about how angry she gets when hunger strikes and there is no food to be eaten. She has four brothers and sisters whom she also feels heartache for. These photographs no doubt help tell the stories of every individual in the exhibit. Though not only do we feel for these people but also for all the others out there who are always in need of a meal. Michael Nye demonstrates this issue in the perfect lighting. He captures expressions that tell stories and also advocates for the people who remain voiceless to our society. 

The other art exhibit was called “52,” by the artist Sue Mitchell. She not only created 52 etchings of her favorite trees (each print edition out of twenty-five) but brought in her entire art studio from the past five years of her thought process through this journey. Her “art studio” was amazing; the wall was cluttered with every thought but each was placed on the wall with purpose. I had the pleasure to meet the artist and she was inspiring. She even thanked us for “actually” reading the wall because she said most don’t and then they are lost when walking into her art studio. I appreciated the fact that she told us to not call our sketchbook a “sketchbook” but rather an “everything book.” She believed calling it a sketchbook limited people to only drawing their sketches, rather than drawing every thought and pasting every picture that inspired someone. One etching she printed that stood out to me was titled “Tree Nineteen.” The tree showed very sturdy taking up most of the bottom right corner of the print. As you scan the rest of the image it becomes a bit more delicate with all of the tiny detailed branches. 

Although this Museum was not the biggest I have been to it was definitely one of my favorites I have visited. The two exhibits I saw were both so inspiring in their own ways I wanted make sure I saw all that there was in each room. 

Michael Nye, Photography, “Tiffany”

Michael Nye, Photography, “Josette”

Michael Nye, Photography, “Rick”

Sue Mitchell, Solar Etching, “Tree Nineteen”

Maddison Wright
Intro to Art History
12/3/2013

17th & 18th Century: Rembrandt

Rembrandt was born into the Dutch society which focused on family, business, and social organizations. Born the son of a miller in the city of Leiden, Rembrandt started to immerse in art and by age 20 had his own students learning from him. He adopted a dramatic lighting technique learned from Caravaggio. This can be seen in one of his groups portraits’ titled, “Sortie of Captain Banning Cocq’s Company of the Civic Guard.” The lighting in this painting is primarily darker colors with the background nearly black. Rembrandt placed a spotlight on a few people by painting them with light colors such as white or  a darker color like red. This painting had a heavy layer of varnish on top of the oil paint and sat by a fireplace for a while, making his piece become darkened and feeling like a “nighttime scene.” The nickname given to this piece based on its darkening colors was “The Night Watch.”
Another oil painting by Rembrandt done in 1633 portrays certain areas of lightness and darkness. The carefully painted sail boat and canoe, stranded in the middle of a storm, was titled “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee.” To the very right vertical edge of the painting there is mostly blackness, which extends horizontally across the bottom of the painting. Right under the boat are brighter whites and and blues; which curve up horizontally around the boat and up the left side into the lightened clouds. The left side of the painting that shows darker colors shows specifically accented paint strokes started from the middle and curving down into the ocean. It seems as though the boat is painted in the middle of a big oval (represented by the ocean and clouds). The higher up on the tilted boat a person is, the brighter the colors. In the darker shadows of the painting, you see many people hovering over Jesus to keep him safe any way they can. The energy through this painting is a sense of obvious struggle and grasp for any hope they have left. 
The last picture to show how Rembrandt always using his own light and dark technique is a self-portrait of him painted in 1629. 

Around the year 1631, for a decade, Rembrandt was at the top of his fame feeling success and personal happiness. Years to follow his life would soon go spiraling down into hardships. Rembrandt married in 1634 to Saskia van Uijlenburgh who gave his name even greater fame. During their marriage they tragically had four failed births but in 1641 finally gave birth to a son named Titus. Another tragedy took place in 1642 when his wife Saskia died along with his son Titus dying in the year 1668; then a year later Rembrandt passed away. Rembrandt spent most of his life frantically trying to pay off his debt. 

Rembrandt, “Sortie of Captain Banning Cocq’s Company of the Civic Guard” oil painting

Rembrandt, “Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee” oil painting

Rembrandt, Self Portrait, 1629

Maddison Wright
Intro to Art History
12/3/2013

The Price of Art

In the recent month of November 2013 at Christie’s auction house in New York, an oil painting called “Three Studies of Lucian Freud,” by Francis Bacon was purchased for $142.4 million; making this the highest price ever paid at an auction. This piece out-shined the estimated value Christie’s auction house believed it would sell for, which was $85 million. The man in this piece was painted after a friend of Bacon’s, his name was Lucian Freud. It is rumored that William Acquavella, the New York dealer who bought the tryptic was actually bidding for someone else sitting up in the skyboxes. This mystery bidder left an art dealer and an art director feeling disappointed and defeated. The art dealer Larry Gagosian stated, “I went to $101 million but it hardly mattered.” The art directer of the Shin Gallery on Grand Street in Manhattan, Hong Gye Shin, found the “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” irresistible. He says, “Maybe someday I’ll have another chance” to buy the piece. Francis Bacon is one of the top sought out artists so it is no surprise in 2011 another one of his pieces titled, “Tryptich, 1976” sold for $82.5 million. This piece was purchased at Sotheby’s auction house and was estimated to sell for $70 million. There is no second thought as to why Francis Bacon was such a successful art maker. Most of his painting’s use abstract techniques by morphing much of the faces and bodies - plus you can spot one of his paintings if it is a tryptich. I can look at Bacon’s art work’s for hours because of all the unique aspects presented in his painting’s.
One painting that was sold in 2013 for $155 million was originally supposed to be sold in 2006 for $139 million. This painting is called “La Reve,” by Pablo Picasso meaning “The Dream.” The result for this painting sold in 2013 opposed to 2006 was because of the seller Steve Wynn accidentally put his elbow through the painting right before he was about to sell it to a man named Steven Cohen. However those 7 years later the painting was still sold to Steven Cohen. Pablo Picasso painted “La Reve” after his love Marie-Therese Walter sitting in a red arm chair. The composition, primary colors, and relaxed feeling allows me to feel an energy exerting through this painting. 
A Claude Monet 1919 painting called “Le bassin aux nympheas” sold for $80.6 million in   June 2008 at Christie’s London auction house. This sale duplicated the estimated price and sold for more money than a previous Monet put up at the auction. 
Sold at the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer in 2006 was a spectacular painting by Gustav Klimt titled, “Adele Bloch-bauer I.” This art was bought by Ronald Lauder for a soaring price of $135 million. This painting was taken by the Nazis during World War II and transported to the National Gallery of Austria in 1948. There is actual silver in this painting; only reinforcing how royal and exquisite Gustav Klimt makes this piece feel.

A last piece worth talking about is called “Garcon a la pipe” by Pablo Picasso. This piece was sold in May 2004 for $104.1 million; breaking the record of the highest painting sold since Vincent van Gogh in 1990. “Garcon a la pipe”  was as well was the first art piece to surpass the sale price of $100 million. The buyer is rumored to be an Italian pasta magnate named Guido Barilla. 

Francis Bacon, “Three Studies of Lucian Freud”

Francis Bacon, “Tryptich, 1976”

Pablo Picasso, “La Reve”

Claude Monet, Le bassin aux nymphéas

Gustav Klimt, Adele Bloch-bauer I

Pablo Picasso, Garcon a la pipe