Question 1 on Final

If I could chose to hang masterpieces in my home, I think that I would hang some of Monet's works. I really enjoy impressionistic pieces, they just seem to add life to a place and not take themselves too seriously. Also, they are just pretty.

Springtime

I would hang Springtime in my room. It is very relaxing, which is what I think a bedroom should promote. The colors would also go very nicely since my room has green and purple walls.

Sunrise

I have a rather large wall that goes from shoulder height to the ceiling, which is open beam. It gives my house a cabin-type feel. I would place Sunrise on the left side of the wall.

Venice Twilight

Venice Twilight would go on the same wall as Sunrise, but in the middle.

Sunset at Lavacourt

Sunset at Lavacourt would go to the right of Venice Twilight. I like the progression of these three paintings, like you are watching the day go by. I have sliding glass doors to the right of the wall where these would all be placed, so there would be plenty of natural light to view the paintings in.

Poppy Field Daily

This last painting of poppies would be placed in my dining room. It would make me feel as if I am eating outside in a field of poppies, like every meal was a picnic.

Art Walk Follow Up

I went back to the Pomona Arts Colony to do the follow up assignment and got to visit a gallery that I missed on the Art Walk. OBJCT gallery was interesting in a fun way. I talked a guy that works there and learned that all the artwork there was recycled from something else. The man told me that repurposing and reusing materials was the new “hot” trend. He expects it to take off since people are so into recycling to save the earth.

Cassandra Tondro Unfolding Acrylic latex on canvas, 2007

These four panels were painted with paint collected from a hazardous waste clean up event. Although I found it praiseworthy that the artist is using reclaimed paint, it amazes me that anyone would pay the asking price of $11,500. Sometimes I think that if you were to slap some paint on a canvas, put a huge price tag on it, and hang it in a museum, you would get people willing to pay the exorbitant fee and say that it is a masterpiece.

Cassandra Tondro Cosmos Acrylic latex on canvas, 2008

I don’t understand how the four panel piece could be priced at $11,500 but this two panel piece is priced at $2,900. I suppose that pricing, like art itself, is subjective.

Greg Lynn Toy Furniture: Duck Table Plastic toy base, Panelite top, 2008

I really enjoyed this table. The only person that I can think of that would buy this would be a middle aged man who has too much money and wants to get his youth back. Although I think that it is great that the plastic is recycled from plastic toys, I don’t know anyone who would want to buy it to use it. I hope that the artist had fun making this, I know I had fun viewing it.

Once again, the information that I got from the employee when interviewing him was that repurposing was the next big thing.

San Diego Museum of Art

I traveled to the San Diego Museum of Art for my art blog.

James Hyde Middle Station-Luminous Platforms and Relaxed Seating 2006

This was the most interesting piece that I saw. It was a display that took up the whole room. There was a foam chair covered in plastic, four metal chairs, two lighted platforms in white and another in orange. The whole piece was very modern. Although it is made for relaxed seating, it does not look as if it would be comfortable to sit on.

George Bellows Three Pigs and a Mountain Oil on board, 1922

It is not the subject of the painting that interested me, but rather the shading that caught my eye. It looks as though you could see the sun shining on the pigs. Also, the way the forest is built up until it thins down at the top and the different colors involved looks really amazing.

George Bellows Winter Road Oil on canvas, 1912

Although the shading was not as obvious as in Three Pigs and a Mountain, it is still there, kind of like it is his signature. I think that the most interesting thing about these paintings is the subject matter. They are both of the “old-time” countryside.

Childe Hassam Stone Bridge, Old Lyme, Connecticut Oil on canvas, 1905

This painting was really striking because the brush strokes are so evident. You almost have to unfocus your eyes in order to see the whole picture, rather than just the individual brush strokes.

Further into the museum there was another painting that reminded me of this style. It was painted in the same era as Stone Bridge, but rather than being of the countryside, it was of Notre Dame.

Maximilien Luce Notre Dame Oil on canvas, 1900

The main difference between these paintings is the size of the brush strokes. The Stone Bridge painting has rather large brush strokes while the Notre Dame painting’s strokes are smaller, but still noticeable. You can see the overall picture very easily in Notre Dame. I love how the violet colors make me think that this was painted just after twilight.

Maurice de Vlaminck Village with a Church Oil on canvas, 1910

The vibrant colors in this painting really stood out to me. Also, the severity of the angles and how the angles are continued into the sky. The church is where your eyes are drawn to because it is taller than all the other buildings.

William Merritt Chase An Afternoon Stroll Oil on canvas, 1895

This painting really stood out to me because it reminds me of Anne of Green Gable.

I’m not sure who the painter had in mind when painting this, but it reminds me of Diana, Anne’s friend strolling along the shore. The interplay of light and shadows is really striking.

Looking at a close up of the figure, the way the artist gets across the expression on the woman’s face is amazing.

Finally, the museum had a room devoted entirely to comparing the works of a master and one of his students. They had many sketches by both Ferdinand Bol and Rembrandt Van Rijn.

Rembrandt Van Rijn Bearded Man in a Velvet Cap with a Jewel Clasp Etching, 1637

Ferdinand Bol Old Man with Flowing Beard Etching and drypoint, 1642

Ferdinand Bol (on the left) Young Man Wearing a Plumed Cap Etching and drypoint, 1642

Rembrandt Van Rijn (on right) Young Man in a Velvet Cap Etching, 1637

Pomona Art Walk

I went to the Art Walk in Pomona not knowing what to expect. I have seen art gallery openings portrayed on television as either this refined chic event where people are dressed to the nines an standing around talking in snooty voices about how smart and refined they are for attending a gallery opening or with interpretive art pieces that are scary.

I did enjoy going to the Art Walk. All the people I talked to were very friendly and no one was snooty or rude. The atmosphere was very relaxed when going into the different galleries. The first gallery I went into, and by far the largest, was The dA Center for the Arts. It was the setting for the New Traditions showing. The piece that struck me the most was Intertwined by Marcella Swett.

I’m not sure what it is really that drew me into this painting, but I really like it. The way the white shades makes the black really pop from the sand colored background. All the lines are really interconnected and move throughout the piece rather than just a part of it.

The next gallery I went to was my favorite. The Pomona Frame House was two levels. The first level was where all the actual framing goes on and the second level was a loft area where all the artwork was displayed. Although it was not as big of a space as dA, I enjoyed it much more. The first piece that I saw was Desert Twilight by Arlene Moreno.

I love the colors and the shading. This watercolor painting makes me feel as if I am in the desert at twilight, watching that setting sun paint the desert these vibrant colors. The colors that the sky changes into at sunset are my favorite.

The next piece that I liked was a collage titled Morning Awakes by Kathy Spears.

The main thing that stood out to me was how much the girl in the piece looked similar to the woman in La Scapigliata by Da Vinci. The poses are the same down to the closed eyes and the downcast head. This could be a good example of an argument for the generalist use of criteria.

The last piece that I want to talk about is Poltergeist by Tom Oliver.

What attracted me to this painting was the contrast of colors. The vibrancy of the reds, greens, blues and yellows caught my eye immediately and drew me in. It makes me want to know more about this painting and what the artist was trying to say with it.

All in all, the experience of the Pomona Art Walk was a beneficial one. I enjoyed walking around the galleries and looking at the different expressions of art from the different artists. Although dA was the “hottest” gallery with the most people and a lot of art from many different artists, I enjoyed the Pomona Frame House the most. It was small, but felt intimate.