Author: Kristine Veras

FINAL PROJECT: “The Art of Deceit”

“Art of Deceit” by Kristine Veras

In class before we spoke on the period of Roman Portraiture, and how Art wasn’t always accepted for reasons of it being viewed as deceitful or for allowing too much freedom of thought or expression, and eventually Verism, a form of realism art, started being incorporated into Art more. Art was looked down upon and instead, more realistic things such as government, philosophy etc were seen as ideal. If you look at the piece that I created, it’s a bunch of headlines surrounding some of the biggest political scandals in the background, each painted a different color to stand out not only as a whole but amongst one another so that the viewer can draw individual attention to each headline. In the foreground, here is an astronaut, the size of the entire canvas; therefore it’s relatively large compared to the headlines to also stand out. The purpose of the Astronaut being that one of the most relevant scandals, mysteries, “conspiracy theories” is surrounding whether the Moon landing was staged or not. When creating the piece I really wanted to capture the irony behind Art being unaccepted for being “Deceitful”, when really  one of the largest deceits, yet one of the most present and active ones in our lives, is the government. There’s also an irony in how Art itself can be a political statement about political statements and maybe that’s why it wasn’t accepted, it was seen as a potential danger. And that is the art of deceit.

The Renaissance and Baroque Art.

This sculpture is a depiction of Orpheus, known for being a famous musician and poet in Greek mythology, playing the violin. At the immediate eye view, one notices that the Bronze statue is very big in size- especially when seen in relativity to the other statues around it. The large scale of the statue helps catch one’s eyes and stand out amongst the others. Although it’s one solid color throughout, there are many details that bring the statue to life and give it a unique character, From the way the hind leg is positioned to be bent and elevated in relation to the front leg, to the way he’s playing the violin on the other side of his body as he looks upward not only makes it seem human-like, but it gives it almost this grace in it’s expression. The loss in stiffness, helps remind the readers, aside from the violin, that he’s an artist. This is an example of Renaissance art because there’s a lot of more flow in expression that help attribute to this overall involvement of art and even “rebirth”, which is what the Renaissance was all about.

This painting is an image of Christ, carrying the cross. Christ being a very important and symbolic figure with significant Religious meanings, globally. In the painting, Christ is holding the cross very firmly with both hands (and as we know in Baroque Art there was the common presence of religion in the art) which can be interpreted as holding onto religion, as it wasn’t something fully accepted at the time. The colors, navy blue and a red that has rose highlights creating a silk looking material, are highly contrasted among the background of dark clouds, as is the Brown cross with white detailing creating a wooden appearing surface. Again, bringing attention to Christ and the cross, symbols of religion. Lastly, Christ himself is looking up to the sky and often this is a symbol or gesture done for hope, one done when in desperate needs, at that. With another symbol of hope this may reveal how hope and religion went hand in hand, and therefore baroque art was used not only to create dramatic, emotional art, but also to coincide with the more political side of things which involved religion.

 

While both Baroque and Renaissance art have had significant impacts in expression during their time periods, both were very different in how they manifested in art. Renaissance art included more Humanism, Realism, Greek/Roman art forms, linear perspectives, architecture, music, and much more. Baroque art, on the other hand involved more color, more dramatic scenes, details, to “create a sense of awe” for the audience, with intentions to “appeal to emotion”, and etc. They are both significant because they help show the difference in focuses and ideologies that Art helped carry throughout each of these specific time periods.

Humanism in Greek art

Humanism is a concept that emphasizes “attaching prime importance to human(s) rather than divine or supernatural matters”, it is the study of human beings. In art, Humanism manifested through paying more attention to Human detail to make them look more human, through highlighting and detailing humanistic traits such as giving hair more detail- making it more realistic, making bodies more big and detailed (highlighting things such as stance, genitals, muscles etc). This was very important in the ancient times because it was a large switch from encompassing life and its meaning to supernatural and divine figures. Humanism presented more realism in the people’s lives. Humanism helped not only improve the quality of art and sculptures; however, it also helped show the evolution of art and how it was done before and how it developed.

 

Greek and Roman art, portray Gods as more human;

(Statue of Kouros)

whereas, Egyptian and Mesopotamian Gods are portrayed in a more dehumanized way having animal heads etc, however only because they were seen as divine and not as equivalent to humans, but superior. Egyptian art had more of a mystical feel to it rather than a realistic one.

(Painting of Anubis, a God with a jackal head)

Here is a juxtaposition of Greek and Egyptian art:

 (Marble statue of Kouros vs. King Menkaure and Queen statue)

Clearly the inclusion of Humanism was revolutionary because “it valued humanity in that it began to place human beings @ center of moral and social concerns and gave more valoration to things such as the human body”.

Brooklyn Museum Visit

The entire Egyptian exhibition was really beautiful, it consisted of a lot of sculptures and models of Egyptian life and objects. The artwork that captured my eye immediately in the midst of all the others was, the Statue of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and Her Son, Pepy II (author Unknown). The Sculpture is of a Queen (Ankhnes) holding her son, Pepy II. Immediately the size of both is noticeable as Queen Ankhnes is at least three times the size of Pepy II. Pepy II is on Ankhnes’ lap and facing East, as Ankhnes is facing North. The size could be a symbol of how powerful the mother-role was as she would serve as not only the domestic role but also as a protector of the future generations of Kings/Queens. Her role as a protector can be observed as Pepy II “clasps” her hand, clasping being a sign of reassurance and presence of one and their protection. Pepy II’s feet also are on a block almost half the size of his mother, this could further represent his King stature and how he will always be on some sort of pedestal in relation to the other Egyptians. The direction in which they’re facing can symbolize how they own have their own focuses or visions- the Queen ensuring that she’s fulfilling her role as a mother to nurse her child and still “act as regent” and Pepy II, facing his own direction can symbolize his priorities or focus of being “king as a small child”. The fact that he was king so young can also be another reason as for why he is so small in comparison to his mother, since he is not yet very powerful. It is made out of Egyptian alabaster which has a  yellowish-brown town. Alabaster is very easy for drawing and carving. The neutrality in color could show that maybe there was no large gap in importance nor dominance between the two at that specific time- in Egypt Red usually symbolized Males and their dominance, and Yellow was normally used for Women. Or the lack of color can simply show us that there may have been a lack of color resources for art when this was made.

 

In Soul of a Nation there were very colorful paintings, some very colorful some abstract, some very simplistic, but all with a very powerful message. The artwork that seized my attention was the mahogany sculpture, “Black Unity” by Elizabeth Catlett. The sculpture is very large and is simply a sculpted closed fist, which has been established for unity- especially Black unity. The size of the sculpture is very big, which could represent a unity in activism for Black rights as many have come together to stand up for and reclaim their rights, especially in the last 50 or so, years. The use of making the fist Mahogany, a very deep brown, can be a literal representation of a Black hand. The sculpture is placed on top of a white square base, which could be used for contrast- to make the fist stand out greatly amongst everything else, almost as negative space-  or simply for positioning, to re-imagine a world where Blacks are no longer subjected nor inferior to whites. The significance of this fist can extend largely, as it can be intended for an audience of whites as well, and make them feel powerless or serve as a reminder to make them remotely aware of racial injustices that have occured. When I was at the exhibit, I witnessed a lot of people, but a majority were white or tourists. Making this sculpture so big and noticeable, even the placement of it being in the middle of the floor with all the other artwork surrounding it can be a stamp or symbol for Black power and make everyone, especially the white people aware, as it is something you can’t miss nor ignore.  

Unit 1 SUMmary

I came into Art History thinking that it was going to be one of those straightforward and factual classes; when it’s actually one of the most ambiguous classes that I have because it’s so heavy on interpretation and not at all what I expected, in a good way. My initial idea was the this class would be really heavy on reading and brushing up on facts about artists and paintings, how they came about, and what they mean or symbolize. And although some of it is, I didn’t think it would be focused on the visual aspect of the art and the history combined.

Two things that we have learned about that are actually manifested in the classroom are critical pedagogy and formal analysis:

 

 

Critical pedagogy (also identified as the Banking Method) is a structure in classrooms in which knowledge is “deposited” (Freire 72) into the students and they sit there passively while the teacher serves as the dominant or authoritative figure in the classroom. I appreciate my class because I feel like this isn’t necessarily the case.The class is very inclusive and student-dependent whether that means letting students lead discussions or letting students decide on a due date. We also all actively participate collectively. Yes, we’re all sitting while Professor Shaw teaches standing but sometimes she even sits with us or makes it feel less pressured of a typical school environment.

Another thing we learned about was Formal Analysis, which is a visual examination of a piece of art. From lines, color, scale, dimension- it’s all used to make something of a visual piece. Formal Analysis is used to get at a bigger meaning of the art, what it may tell us, and how it may affect the viewers that see it. We put this method to use in class everyday during lectures, we use formal analysis collectively along with the professor and establish a significance of the piece of art Professor Shaw introduces to us. Using Formal Analysis helps the class be more open to interpretation as it’s never just black and white. There’s never just one simple answer, and that in turn, requires us to think a lot, actively.

After being in Art History for a couple of weeks now, my initial ideas of the class are now reshaped, as I see- and as ironically as it sounds- that this class, focused on the deeper meaning of things requiring open interpretations, is also very open to interpretation itself.

It’s one thing to learn about something just to recite it later on, but to apply it in class makes it more real.

Comment on Sairah Sajid (9:30AmClass) Pedagogy and Power post

I found it interesting and very cool that Sairah applied the Banking model to a scenario outside of your typical desk, whiteboard, school scenario. In her Sairah used the banking model to speak on when she used to take karate lessons. I thought this was interesting and I wanted to commend her for it because it only goes to prove how applicable and common this model is, that it exists in many other dimensions in our lives outside of typical classrooms and this can be problematic when the desire for knowledge is interfered by position of authority.

My post was similar to Sairah’s because we both could relate to the positives and negatives that come with this specific model. We both indirectly agreed that the Banking model may lead to more independence and to successful learning skills which is a pro of this model; however something Sairah had mentioned that I didn’t consciously think about was the significance the “position of authority”  has, as they are the ones who choose if you can “move forward” or not. In the scenario of academic school, a lot of teachers can determine some students future simply off a grade, and many teachers can abuse this, and this just shows one case in which the Banking model may not be the best model, for a reason like this.

Thank you for sharing your post, it was interesting to see a different perspective and how it can align to mine. I enjoyed reading it!

Formal Analysis

Formal analysis is a way of visually describing things with careful examination. Often when using formal analysis it “concerns the visual and physical aspects of the work of art” (23). When using this method of analysis, usually the purpose is to get ‘the bigger picture’… literally. It SHOWS rather than simply telling us; and as the viewers, we’re trying to see what the artist was trying to get at and what the picture means and how it may effect the viewer- it extends further past it’s physical description.

Formal analysis is unique because it’s very open to interpretation, as each viewer will interpret differently and get different meanings from the paintings. Things like color, lines, space, scale, dimension, etc can all play into the visual exploration, and should all be considered when examining a painting- as they all play into decoding the painting and hopefully providing us with a meaning or explanation of what may have occurred at the time or the artists’ minds.

The Banking method, a balanced method?

To Freire, the Banking Method is a structure in classrooms in which knowledge is “deposited” (72) into the students, which Freire describes as “serving to dehumanize” (75). Rather than being a mutual space where everyone learns from and teaches each other, this structure is designed to have one main teacher (the authoritative figure) while the students remain there passively.

This model is critiqued by Freire for being a form of oppression as it empowers the teacher to be the “depositor” (72) leaving the students powerless, at the expense of both the teachers and the students (more so the students, however) as everyone can always benefit from learning something.

The Banking method is contradictory to the entire idea of teaching being a mutual process between teachers and students; so if the entire focus of learning is for the sake of education, as it’s supposed to be “an instrument for liberation”, the Banking method does just the opposite- as it subconsciously establishes an existing oppressed space in classrooms.

I went to a Charter School for middle and high school, and although the immediate norm in schools globally follows the Banking method, my schools were more strict in following it. We had to sit there robotically- couldn’t get up to use the bathroom, throw garbage out, nor get tissue without raising our hand as asking the teacher first, and that’s if the teacher said yes- and pay attention. No speaking or disrupting or else it would be a demerit. However, something I was very appreciative of that my schools did, is that they were very big and open to asking questions and letting students lead discussions via seminars(in some classes). In Hindsight, I can vouch that the Banking Method’s benefits included: practicing more focus in classrooms and learning, along with more order of the learning material; however, the idea of the teacher being the only “depositor” is harmful. Therefore, students should have more of an active role in their classes not only so they can retain more but ACTUALLY learn and hopefully enjoy it. Also, the presence of teachers may be useful in case students are confused or have ‘loose ends’ that need to be ’tied up’ at the end of class, it’s all about balance for the best outcome.

My Art hiSTORY

I think that for a lot of people Art is thought of so simplistically; when actually it’s a rather complex concept. To me is an expression, regardless of what form it may be in, it can be applied freely by anyone, well to me, at least. Many people assume that art is simply painting and drawing, but to me it’s way more than that. I think ironically enough that Art IS History, and History IS Art. They go hand in hand and intertwine to help see where some people’s heads are at or where we are as a nation, or simply trend-wise. Personally, my attention is greatly captivated with aesthetic, so whether it’s a beat that’s sonically beautiful, or the color scheme of a picture, or the way clothing goes together, or how a body can move in sync with a beat, I enjoy it all.

Art is in my life everywhere, sometimes it controls things in my life, such as what I wear, what my mind envisions, how I see things, what I listen to, what I take pictures of, etc. Art has definitely played a part in who I am today and why I am how I am and why I like the things that I like.

In this class, I hope to gain a larger perspective of Art and widening my current definition of it. I hope to learn more about how it used to be to see how it’s developed today and if it has had any long term impacts. I hope to also see how it may have influenced people and led to things being how they are today.

I think Art is very underappreciated and overlooked, when it’s something that we can actually learn from however don’t always access enough.

How to Make a Blog Post

If you’re reading this it’s probably because you’re wondering how to make a blog post on this website. Well have no fear, Kristine is here! … with the steps!

First thing’s first, click the heading titled, “Fall 2018 Art 1010 at Brooklyn College”, on the top left corner of your screen, right next to the heading, “CUNY Academic Commons”.

Once you do that you will be brought to the Dashboard, and the second step is to either click “Post” (has a push pin icon next to it) on the left sidebar and click “Add New” right under “Posts” or simply hover your mouse over “Posts” and click “Add New”.

Voila! You are now in front of an empty blog post template and may type away! Be sure to title and tag it!