As I made my way around the Tweed Museum of Art I came across an etching done by Kathe Kollwitz. “Working Woman with Earring” caught my attention due to the black and white that emphasized the emotional use of color. I analyzed the art piece by considering the following: what I know, what I see, what I feel, the differences between that time in history and now, how the piece of art embodies the culture and values of its time and place and the relationship between the form and content. To begin learning more about the art’s meaning, I researched the artist to better identify what her art meant. Kathe Kollwitz was born in what is now known as Kaliningrad, Russia in 1867. Kathe established herself as a female artist who portrayed women and her subject’s predicaments during the time period. At the time, it may have seemed like her work wasn't current due to the increased use of abstraction, yet she continued to use light and dark contrasts to reveal emotions. After World War One, the war she loss her son to, her art was more reflective of the exploration of mourning. Kathe no longer painted and became in favor of etching and sculpture, and later lithography and woodcuts. She used the subject of mourning to show compassion for those in need, which reinforced her sense of advocacy. In 1933, The Nazi government forbid her from teaching at the …show more content…
Similar to her period of art, today abstraction is used by many artists. The main difference distinguished between today's art and Kollwitz’s period in history are the issues that are brought up as subject matter. During Kollwitz’s time World War One and World War Two were both huge events that occurred in history that inspired the work of many artists. Today, there is a more broad range of subject matters in art, some of which that acknowledge current topics such as issues on police brutality, terrorism, sexism and
Karlsen further describes her theme along with a wonderful exhibiting connected with outlining this time for the portrayal of women. Specifically, she em...
Contextual Theory: This painting depicts a portrait of life during the late 1800’s. The women’s clothing and hair style represent that era. Gorgeous landscape and a leisurely moment are captured by the artist in this work of
The earliest forms of art had made it’s mark in history for being an influential and unique representation of various cultures and religions as well as playing a fundamental role in society. However, with the new era of postmodernism, art slowly deviated away from both the religious context it was originally created in, and apart from serving as a ritual function. Walter Benjamin, a German literary critic and philosopher during the 1900’s, strongly believed that the mass production of pieces has freed art from the boundaries of tradition, “For the first time in world history, mechanical reproduction emancipates the work of art from its parasitical dependance on ritual” (Benjamin 1992). This particular excerpt has a direct correlation with the work of Andy Warhol, specifically “Silver Liz as Cleopatra.” Andy Warhol’s rendition of Elizabeth Taylor are prime examples of the shift in art history that Benjamin refers to as the value of this particular piece is based upon its mass production, and appropriation of iconic images and people.
Art could be displayed in many different forms; through photography, zines, poetry, or even a scrapbook. There are many inspirational women artists throughout history, including famous women artists such Artemisia Gentileschi and Georgia O’Keeffe. When searching for famous female artists that stood out to me, I found Frida Kahlo, and Barbara Kruger. Two very contrasting type of artists, though both extremely artistic. Both of these artists are known to be feminists, and displayed their issues through painting and photography. Frida Kahlo and Barbara Kruger’s social and historical significance will be discussed.
The narratives in the work speak to the racial and social inequalities in America in the nineties. This deep concern with the coloured experience and the struggle for civil rights is seen in the images and sculptures she creates. Especially of women, as she lived through a time of widespread segregation, so her work was created from the place she knew most intimately.
Aristotle once claimed that, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Artists, such as Louise-Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun and Mary Cassatt, captured not only the way things physically appeared on the outside, but also the emotions that were transpiring on the inside. A part no always visible to the viewer. While both artists, Le Brun and Cassatt, worked within the perimeters of their artistic cultures --the 18th century in which female artists were excluded and the 19th century, in which women were artistically limited-- they were able to capture the loving relationship between mother and child, but in works such as Marie Antoinette and Her Children and Mother Nursing her Child 1898,
Furthermore, Kathe Kollwitz lived a very prodigious yet dynamic evocative life and her legacy will be in eternal revere. She was born on July 8, 1867 in Konigsberg of East Prussia. She was born in the mid-late years of the 19th century. Kollwitz had the desire to study art and pursued this ambition in Berlin. She worked under Karl Stauffer-Bern at the sc...
The contrasts between depth and surface, figure and landscape, promiscuity and modesty, beauty and vulgarity all present themselves in de Kooning’s Woman and Bicycle. Although the figure is a seemingly normal woman out for an afternoon with her bike, she becomes so much more through the artist’s use of color, contrast, and composition. The exotic nature of woman presents itself in her direct stare and slick buxom breasts in spite of a nearly indiscernible figure. It is understood that, on the whole, de Kooning did not paint with a purpose in mind, but rather as an opportunity to create an experience, however, that does not go to say that there isn’t some meaning that can come of this work. Even Willem de Kooning once said that art is not everything that is in it, but what you can take out of it (Hess p.144).
Furthermore, the art piece is only in shades of black and white, which really intensifies the sadness and darkness. The expressions on the faces, the quality of the lines, the texture, and the absence of color capture the deep emotion of the figures in such a compelling way. During the period in which the piece was created, it was popular to paint in a socialistic style. Kollwitz accurately did this in all of her pieces by depicting social movements, peasant uprisings, the impact of war, and the life of the worker. Her style can be categorized even further by saying that it was a form of German expressionism. This
Feminist issues have played an important role in creating ideas for female artists to use in their work. Putting out controversial themes such as this promotes individual thought on the topic of feminism. Kruger and Höch both took it upon themselves to put out these ideas through many of their key artworks. In 1920, Höch came out with her photomontage, Das Schöne Mädchen (The Beautiful Girl) (Fig. 1), which at the time was one of very few photomontages that Dada artists had included female figures in. (Hemus, 104). In this particular work she puts together many different images that create a certain meaning that the viewer is left to interpret. She uses a fema...
The turmoil began early for this young woman. At age six, she was stricken with polio, which left her walking with a limp. From the beginning Kahlo did not intend to become an artist. She was attending school at The Preparatoria (Preparatory) to become a famous doctor (Frida Kahlo n.d.). It was on September 17, 1925 that the most pivotal moment in her life occurred. Kahlo was on her way home from school when she became involved in a tragic bus accident. She was discovered by her boyfriend at the time, Alejandro Gomez Avais. Her slender body had been pierced by a hand rail (Lucie-Smith 1999). Many, including doctors, thought she wouldn’t make it. She proved wrong after surviving various surgeries. For a year she was put in bed to recuperate. The accident left her with a broken back, broken pelvis, and a crushed leg. During her recuperation she taught herself she taught herself to paint by studying Italian Renaissance (Frida Kahlo n.d.). She began painting portraits of family members and still life from her bed.
One of the most influential and inspiring feminist artists to produce work, Judy Chicago was able to (how she changed the world) through her work including ‘the dinner party’ (1979).an instillation completed after 5 years of development. Triangular in configuration, equilateral in structure, reflecting the goal of feminism, an equalized world. Completed using ceramics, needle and fiber techniques as well as china painting. The table holding 39 place settings each commemorating a mythical or important woman or historical figure. Beneath the table was 2304 handmade porcelain tiles, 999 of which were inscribed of other important woman’s names. In her artwork the dinner party Judy Chicago gave recognition to woman both achievers and oppressed. In this way she gave a voice to the duality of woman’s issues, not only was she advocating for recognition of woman’s achievements but she was also bringing to the forefront the concept of inequality. Judy Chicago‘’ had been trying to establish a respect for woman and woman’s art; to forge a new kind of art expressing woman’s experience’- challenge and redefine conventions of gender’’ The fact that the names of woman were placed on a high end table setting challenged gender equality in itself as tables like this had previously been only acc...
In an empty room at the Timken Museum of Art hangs one of the most iconic paintings of Johannes Vermeer, the astonishing painting, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. In the painting a pale woman’s stands patiently while reading a letter. The woman appears to be wearing a blue jacket and a long gray skirt, and only gazing at the letter, ignoring all of her surroundings. The top right of the painting seems to be a map of the Netherlands, which attracts the viewer because it explains the setting of where the painting took place. The blue jacket around the woman’s torso appears to exaggerate the woman’s stomach, giving the impression that she might be pregnant. The blue chairs resemble a sign of absence as if she lives alone. The light on the top left shines on her face which enhances the viewer’s view of the woman’s facial expression. Johannes Vermeer’s interpretation of complex colors, the light, and her body language inflicts a persuasion on the viewer that the women is traumatized by the news in the letter.
In William Shakespeare's tragic drama Othello we see a morally depraved character, named Iago. Throughout the play he has a plan to bring down a general named Othello, this plan goes from, what seems like, strength to strength. Yet does it? Is the plan Iago makes believable or even realistic?
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.