National Museum visit.

(24-5-2012)


This was a weird day.
Not much in the way of information was given out by Tess, well perhaps initially, but then we all headed into the building and shared some thoughts on the building and it's numerous aspects/features of which got me thinking whether or not it actually does appeal to me as a whole.


We all split up and went our own ways through the establishment. I myself was a little disappointed by it all now that i've been inside and had a proper look around. It was so much more fascinating and intriguing from my last visit when i hadn't yet unlocked the mystery of what lay inside..


Anyway, it was nice to get out n about again (as always) and great to see people from other classes that i don't regularly get time to catch up with.


Here are a few camera-phone shots from the day.




D.

Minimalism & Conceptual Art.

10/5/2012


Being a minimalist, i enjoyed today's class.


Similar to Abstract Impressionism, it is something that i once look at and frowned upon (most people still do), but i can see sense in it all now and like learning more about its origins and the philosophy of the artists who create it.


Notes from today:

• Russian Kasimir Malevich's painting Black Square in 1915 started it all.

• During the 1960's is when it flourished within the art world.

• Dan Flavin, Monument to V Tatlin - 1964

• Mies Van Der Rohe was quoted to say his famous line of "Less is more".

• A work of art should serve a minimal, yet functional purpose without unwanted decoration.

• Neutral, repetition, line, grids, perspective and balance were/are all common aspects of minimalism.

• Controversial within society and its critics due to its lack of subject matter and for the fact some artists would make use of everyday objects that were not created by themselves and display or incorporate it somehow in their work and call it art.

• Donald Judd was a successful sculptured of his day.

• Ab Reinhardt, from the black paintings 1966.

• Walter de Maria.

I was quite crook during class, couldn't stop coughing and sneezing, but this being the case, i thoroughly enjoyed Tess's presentation on this, because as i mentioned already i can relate to the beauty of a "less is more" mentality and try to live my life by it these days.

The relationship between minimalist art and traditional Japanese culture was something i felt was very interesting. Did the western world steal elements of Japanese architecture, design and zen teachings after the wars and then try to re-create it in this new art movement..? hmm i wonder. I can be quite cynical of us westerners sometimes, as i feel we stole a lot of things from the already established and mysterious ways of the eastern cultures.

Anyway, long live minimalism :]

D.

Bauhaus.

29/3/2012
(week 6)


I was away for this class presentation due to moving house, so never had a chance to get my head around it all until today - well hopefully i have...


Anyway, the movement commonly known as Bauhaus first came about in Germany during 1919 and operated until 1933. However many would say that it is still well and truly alive in today's society when relating to design and functionality of everyday items and buildings.


Its founder Walter Gropious was an accomplished architect, however the school itself did not initially have an established section for this. Nonetheless, Bauhaus was founded with the idea of creating a 'total' work of art in which all arts, including architecture would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus and minimalist movements have certainly influenced modern-day architecture.

The school of Bauhaus was famous for its approach of blending handmade crafts, engineering and technology together to create objects for all to own and use.


Now that i think about it i can familiarise myself well with many things i have seen and used throughout my life that have strong Bauhaus characteristics.


I admire the ways in which architecture has been influenced by this movement, i can cert ainly recall a number of house-hold items and perhaps even a great deal of classic machinery (cars/planes/trains/boats etc) that are likely to have also been born from Bauhaus.


I see the sense in what Bauhaus was /is all about, i like how it balances bold, radical elements with stylish design. To be honest i think i am now getting a bit obsessed with trying to notice more of it as a get around each day. One might say it was a movement well ahead of its time, but one that the established world desperately needed in many ways.




The following photographs were taken by myself as an example of what i feel are buildings with Bauhaus-inspired characteristics.

This building is on Northbourne Avenue as you head
into Canberra from the north. It is a strong example of
Bauhaus due to its strong solid shapes, stylishly bold
design and glossy silver finish.
I really like driving slowly past this building every
time i travel along Northbourne Avenue :]

The ABC radio building (also on Northbourne Avenue)
 is a reasonably small, yet bold building design.

This very strong and prominent building is
on Mort Street, not far from the previous
two examples. It displays strong vertical
lines and a balance of colours.

Still nothing yet...

SORRY TESS, STILL NOTHING YET FROM ME REGARDING YOUR BAUHAS TASK. I HAVE ALL THE POWER-POINT PRESENTATIONS AND NOTES NOW - PLAN TO HAVE THIS COMPLETED BY FRIDAY THIS WEEK.


PLEASE DON'T FAIL ME  ':[






D.

Australian Art.

3/5/2012
(week 12)




Notes from today's class:


Major influences / most recognisable names at the time were Albert Namatjira (water colour) and Margaret Preston (painting).


These artists helped address issues of race, gender and identity in Australia in their own way.


Margaret Preston helped get art in Australia up and running thanks to all the influence she returned home with from her travels abroad. Which she shared with the artistic community within Australia.


There was a massive cultural change amongst white-man following the American consumerism boom. A large influx of immigrants came to Australia looking for a better life and work, but traditional aboriginals remained largely untouched and cut off from society. They were also still frowned upon by most people within society.


It was Rex Battarbee who would un-knowingly (or knowingly) train an aboriginal artist by the name of Albert Namatjira in water colour painting. Not sure how it all came about, but it certainly created a stir amongst the general public and the art world for they saw it as exploitation.


Once this raised a bit of interest, Namatjira ended up becoming a HUGE name in Australia and reached a celebrity status - mainly due to the hype of including an aboriginal as a recognised talented artist.


Society suffocated Namatjira and he was constantly on demand and overwhelmed by gifts from big companies of the day.


To his credit though, Namatjira loved being away from all this and was happy to just stick to painting "his land" - part of the Australian landscape that was free from any real human presence or impact from society.


His work demonstrated a high level of skill with the water colour medium, he painted freely and often with a simple setup out in the open. There was never any figures in his work, just all the natural elements that made up the landscape in front of him. I fully respect that.


-


Margaret on the other hand was the complete opposite to Namatjira.


She came from a wealthy lifestyle, mixed with people in high-society and was extremely well educated. Her skills as an artist were much like herself, strong, bold and adaptable.


Elements of numerous styles and movements from around the world can be found in her paintings. As we inspected a small number of her work within the National Gallery of Australia today, i noticed a strong influence from Japan and the cubist periods.


Her travels abroad, unlike Namatjira, opened her up to much influence and she made sure she demonstrated elements of each in her work from time to time and allowed it all to build into something she could attempt to then classify as being unique to Australia, because she was determined to give Australia it's own stand on the art world. Funny thing now is, as much as Margaret tried, Aboriginal Art is what is seen as our trademark (so to speak).


Another information-packed class, thanks Tess.






D.

Abstract Impressionism & US Nationalism.

3/5/2012
(week 12)




This morning's class consisted of another day at the National Gallery of Australia - always nice to get out i say.


Here are my notes from today:


Following on from the explosion of POP-ART, abstract impressionism returned to more of the traditional paint on canvas, but with a new twist (of course).


It was America's turn to take the title of 'the home of art' from europe.


No more traditional suitably sized paintings in a fancy frame, oh no, abstract impressionism was all about making big, bold paintings - often at mural-size. Quite fitting when you think of american culture - BIG, BOLD, BETTER THAN THE REST kind of mentality. This had quite an impact on Europe and the rest of the world.


Many European artists flocked to America in order to immerse themselves in the movement and with them came all their strengths, studies and skills from previous movements. Which of course then mixed together with this new sensation.


New York is the playground for artists, not Paris for now.


Hans Hoffman once quoted "A picture should be made with feeling, not knowing". This is how artists of the abstract impressionism movement approached their work, they would almost get lost in a subconscious state during a painting's creation - focusing more on just going with it rather than thinking and planning it.


Many artists like Mark Rothko aimed to let his work communicate with people's emotions.


Guggenheim / Jackson Pollock were big names of this era.


Pollock was somewhat of an idealistic figure for american art and this helped to boost the popularity of this new movement with celebrity-like status around the world. His radicalism invited artists to break down the constraints of being an artist working on a canvas sitting on an easel. He would often roll out a long sheet of canvas along the floor of his studio and just throw paint around, without fear of keeping it within the edges etc


Throughout 1947-1950 Pollock introduced the drip technique, which allowed paint to to freely end up where it ended up by way of various techniques that eliminated the brush (for example) ever making contact with the canvas itself. This new technique allowed a painter to focus more on the motion, the feeling flowing out from them-self and onto the canvas in a totally free and pure way without the distraction of perfect positioning and pressure etc. Imperfections were encouraged and embraced.


Barnett Newman was another strong figure during this period. As was Helen Frankenthaler. 


I would like to do further research into this movement, because before now i was under the impression that it was all just a bunch of drugged-up people throwing paint around and coming up with stories to support why it is considered art - if i may be so blunt :] Thankfully this course and Tess's detailed breakdowns are helping to open my mind up to all this and see it in a more positive way.






D.

National Portrait Gallery.

12/4/2012
(week 9)

Source: www.flickr.com/people/reecephotography/

Today our visual culture class was treated to a field trip to the National Portrait Gallery here in Canberra. It is one of only 7 "national" portrait galleries in the world, and the only one in the world specially built for portraiture.


I have visited the gallery twice before, once two years ago, and then again just the other week with my friend Tamzen to view the 2012 National Photographic Portrait Prize. Of which was why our class was visiting today. In addition to the main exhibition mentioned above, we took in and shared a group discussion about Nikki Toole's exhibition SKATER. Nikki's exhibition drew mixed reviews and ideas from myself and my classmates and it was interesting to hear and understand everyone's own individual take on it.


Anyway, i think everyone enjoyed going somewhere other than G103 today, it certainly was an absolutely gorgeous day to be out and about in Canberra, that's for sure! It was nice of Dru to shout me my first Mocha Latté swell which i enjoyed with him, Hayley and Tabitha outside the gallery café.


Nice day all round really and only a handful of photographs i either didn't "get" or found to be of no interest to me.






D.






Here is a list of the photographs that appealed to me:

Caravan Kids - by Jennifer Stocks.

Brought back warm memories of family holidays away and staying in caravan parks instead of motels.

Edmond Capon AM OBE - by Gary Grealy.

I admired the strength of the very contrasting light and shadow most.

Portrait of Margaret Olley in her Paddington studio - by John McRea.

Just a beautiful photograph of such a lady. Framing was interesting.

Peta - by Eryca Green.

A feel-good photograph, slightly too setup, but still an honest portrait portraying the right expression/mood.

The chess player - by Andrew Cambell.

Drew me in and caught my interest in a number of ways.

Ned - by Benjamin Lieu.

Ned himself, what a character, nothing more to add.

Eden - by Arianne McNaught.

A stirring image that drew me in the more i looked at it.

Noel Charlie - by Tobias Titz.

Really drew me into what emotions lay beneath such leathery-looking skin and a resilient man. Almost looked as if the subject was holding back tears / about to cry.