Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: How you define art
What is ‘Art’? Does the term describe a tangible object, experiential event, process, technique, medium, or creative skill? Does it imply attractive decoration, pleasant arrangement, and sound financial investment - or can art provoke, be unattractive, make people uncomfortable, and be fleeting? Today, Art is subjective, open to interpretation and encompasses the spectrum of the visual, literary, dance, and musical humanities - often overlapping one another. As such, Art and its practice can be all of the above and more. Post World War II, Modernist theories were waning and a general dissatisfaction was building in the United States and other westernized countries that ultimately led up to the cultural and social revolution of the 1960’s. The period also parallels a rise in relative wealth and subsequent mass consumption of commodities, education, and cultural activities within all the socioeconomic classes. Personal expression became acceptable and art practice exploded to include multiple fields of activity that Rosalind Krauss likens to “an extraordinary practice in elasticity”. Interest in ecology, performance, process, alternative materials, a loosening of social mores and experimentation with altered states of reality contributed to the rise of what is now known amply as Postmodernism. Civil rights, the anti-war movement, rise of feminism, and a political movement left of center created egalitarian entrances for many into various fields of study including Art. Nevertheless, similar to the current state of Western Civilization, not everyone appreciates an open multiplicity of voices often differing in viewpoints from safer, more conservative ones. It is in this context that artists Robert Smithson and Richard Serra bega...
... middle of paper ...
...f clusters of bucolic, boring and safe park benches and potted plants in the plaza, yet the scar where Tilted Arc once stood remained as a reminder until the plaza was redesigned by Martha Schwartz in 1997. Interestingly, photographic and video documentation, along with the hearing proceedings and written critique of the site and its destruction are more influential than the sculpture itself. Tilted Arc is arguably more powerful today than it was when it graced the federal plaza because its ghost haunts the NEA, conservative politicians, citizens and artists alike. Finally, it could be deducted that the very idea - the deliberations and intentions behind both Tilted Arc and Spiral Jetty are what is still alive despite physical incarnations or lack thereof. In true Postmodernist form, that is just as relevant, if not more than the actual construction of the artwork.
With the Pantheon being built over 1700 years ago, it’s amazing that architects are still using features and techniques from this work of architecture in modern creations. The use of this type of classical architecture will continue to be used in works for public space due to its remarkable exterior appearance and it’s long lasting structural durability. When both Jesse hall and the Pantheon are compared it is possible to see their similarities from the types of domes that top each, their external facades, and their interior plan. While they share many similarities, the differences that Bell and Binder used in their creation make this work of architecture unique to many other public spaces.
The Spiral Jetty represents a common design in North American eathwork. The sculpture was constructed form natural elements from the area, whereas The Gates were made of steel frames and fabric. Secondly, the Spiral Jetty was meant to be taken apart slowly over time by the elements and nature. However, The Gates were a temporary installation that was displayed for two weeks before it was physically taken down my man. Even though the two pieces was many differences, they also have some similarities. The two works were man made within nature. The Spiral Jetty may have outlasted The Gates, but nonetheless it was created by a human and was not a natural
From Richard Serra’s “Tilted Arc” it gives a sense that the artwork would stand out because it’s dark color and everything else are bright colors. Which the abstract of the tilted arc represents sadness, power, mystery, and aggressiveness. It is also made out of steel which gives the texture a hard touch. However, Richard Serra did not think of how people would feel about it because the place where they had put it in is where people had to work. Since, the tilted arc is 12 feet high and 120 feet long, people were so eager to remove this piece of art because it did not fit the atmosphere of the place.
Jones, Leslie C.. Transgressive Femininity: Art and Gender in the Sixties and Seventies. Abject Art: Repulsion and Desire in American Art. New York: D.A.P., 1993.
The historical sculpture is composed of tall, steel bars that are freestanding. The creative design uses two effective rhetorical
Smith, R. (1995). The question of modernism and postmodernism. Arts Education Policy Review, 96 2-12.
...reet Art, Ideology, and Public Space.” NYUClasses, Portland State University. 2012. PDF file. 6 May 2014
After the 1940 surrender of Paris, which many Americans viewed as the fall of culture due to Paris’ status as the international mecca for the arts, it was evident that the world required a new and superior cultural hub. Throughout the 1940s American artists, with the influence of European Modern and Surrealist painters, were able to elevate New York City to the center of the art world by implementing a “new, strong, and original” artistic style that simultaneously fought fascist ideology: Abstract Expressionism (Guilbault 65). After the war, galleries throughout Europe exhibited American Abstract art, Rothko’s in particular, to prove that American art, once thought tasteless, possessed artistic depth and merit (“Mark Rothko”). Therefore, Abstract Expression had a major role in making New York City the worldwide cultural metropolis that it is today. In terms of shifts in worldview, Abstract Expressionism placed a great importance on intense emotion and spirituality in a society where religiousness was, and continues to be, replaced by other, often self-centered or materialistic, pursuits. The movement allowed and encouraged the public to explore their darkest fears and woes, which, in the wake of the Second World War and, later on, during the Cold War was likely therapeutic. Above all else, it made society recognize that art should no longer be viewed with suspicion; instead, it should be accepted as an integral element of culture
Abstract Expressionism is making its comeback within the art world. Coined as an artist movement in the 1940’s and 1950’s, at the New York School, American Abstract Expressionist began to express many ideas relevant to humanity and the world around human civilization. However, the subject matters, contributing to artists, were not meant to represent the ever-changing world around them. Rather, how the world around them affected the artist themselves. The works swayed by such worldly influences, become an important article within the artists’ pieces. Subjectively, looking inward to express the artist psyche, artists within the Abstract Expressionism movement became a part of their paintings. Making the paintings more of a representation of one’s self.
Its unnamed creator made a number of crucial, creative decisions that influenced the final piece. As with all art, a number of changes could be made to better accomplish its creator’s goals. The aim of this paper is to analyze the Statue’s execution,
When the pyramid was completed in 1989, Pei’s expression of avant-garde art was not entirely accepted. Many critics praised the aspiration with which the architect designed it, but ridiculed many aspects of its functionality: “The practical problem is that the Pyramid, once you get inside, is noisy, hot, and disorienting” (Campbell, 1989).
According to the pamphlet: "The Guggenheim Museum is an embodiment of Wright's attempts to render the inherent plasticity of organic forms in architecture. His inverted ziggurat (a stepped or winding pyramidal temple of Babylonian origin) dispenses with the conventional approach to museum design, leading visitors through a series of interconnected rooms and forcing them to retrace their steps when exiting. The galleries are divided like the membranes in citrus fruit, with self-contained yet interdependent sections. The open rotunda affords viewers the unique possibility of seeing several bays of work on different levels simultaneously. The spiral design recalls a nautilus shell, with continuous spaces flowing freely one into another."
In conclusion, the controversy of demolishing the original American Folk Art museum’s has been finalized without remorse. According to Diller Scofido+Renfroshas no reasoning could have been found for the integration of the American Folk Art Museum. However, preservation is essential to architecture in the 21st century. It disciplines architecture. Preservation of the American Folk Art Museum will make the site meaningful by keeping the qualities that make it what we call architecture. My opinion is that there are ways to integrate the buildings. Diller Scofido+Renfroshas could have redesigned for a better integration without demolishing the neighboring building ruining a cultural institution. Diller Scofido+Renfroshas is portraying an egotistical and disrespectful opinion towards architecture.
Modern art serves to immerse us more thoroughly in a scene by touching on more than just our sight. Artists such as Grosz, and Duchamp try to get us to feel instead of just see. It seems that this concept has come about largely as a way to regain identity after shedding the concepts of the Enlightenment. “Philosophers, writers, and artists expressed disillusionment with the rational-humanist tradition of the Enlightenment. They no longer shared the Enlightenment's confidence in either reason's capabilities or human goodness...” (Perry, pg. 457) It is interesting to follow art through history and see how the general mood of society changed with various aspects of history, and how events have a strong connection to the art of the corresponding time.
In today’s society anything can be considered “Art”. From the great sounds of a symphony, to the architecture of a modern structure, or even an elephant painting with its trunk, art is what the viewer perceives it to be. Individuals will always agree or disagree with the message behind a certain piece of art, as pieces can be offensive to some, but beautiful to others. Some argue that funding the arts in school is a waste of money, time, or a combination of both, but the benefits outweigh the negatives by far, due to a variety of reasons.