Evaluative questions

Due to a last minute request, here are the basics of an evaluative question. We did touch on these a bit during our last class.

One might look like the following:

How effectively has the artist created movement in this work?

To address this question the following must be given:

1. Either effectively, or not very effectively.

For BOTH sides, you then need to state how movement is created. It's a lot like an analyze question in this way. "The artist creates movement through the use of line, which can be seen..."

From then, the answer either ends, effectively, when you give a 1 sentence wrap up, OR, if in your opinion it is NOT EFFECTIVE, you then need to give SUGGESTIONS as to how movement could have been shown MORE effectively.

Once again, this is a subjective type of question.

Another example would be "how effectively has the artist used color and form in this artwork?". The same process needs to be followed as for the above answer, but this time you need 2 body paragraphs, one that addresses form and another for color.


I hope this helps and I will see you all at 1215 for the exam today.

Happy studying!

Lucia Hartini

Lucia Hartini, Spying Lens, 1989, oil on canvas.

What you need to know about the artist and the artwork:

Symbols and their meanings in relation to her history:

• Influenced by history of being a Catholic Woman in a predominantly Muslim society (Indonesia).
• Eyes – symbolic of always being watched – either reference to Indonesian Government or of being a minority
• Brick wall – idea of being trapped, cornered, stems from her history as a domestic violence victim
• Wrapped ribbon – idea of a safety net to hold and support her – supported by the fact that she is floating, and once again her history of being a domestic violence victim

• Hartini's works show the influence of SURREALISM. Check earlier posts to see what Surrealism is.
• In this work, complementary colors are used. This creates tension in the artwork, as the colors clash and cause discomfort when placed together.
  

M.C. Escher

M.C. Escher, Reptiles, 1943, lithograph.

What you need to know about the artist and this artwork:

Visit this useful website http://www.tessellations.org/tess-what.htm

Under the tessellations menu you will find useful information on the life of M.C. Escher.

• This artwork creates an optical illusion, as Escher creates 2D objects that turn into 3D ones, all on a 2D surface (the lithograph)

What is lithography?
Watch this Youtube video to find out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHw5_1Hopsc

M.C. Escher's works on the whole deal a lot with tessellations, optical illusions, and creating impossible images that look plausible. He was fascinated with mathematics, and the precision that he uses in his artworks allows him to create such believable images.

See some of his most iconic works and read more about his life at the official M.C. Escher website.

Rene Magritte

Rene Magritte, Personal Values, 1952, oil on canvas.

In this artwork, Magritte creates the surreal from the ordinary by changing the scale of the objects in the artwork.

What you need to know about the artist and the artwork:

• A Belgium painter born in 1898
• Magritte was a member of the Surrealists.
• He was a realist however in his application of paint and the extreme detail in which he painted his subjects.
• Created his surrealist paintings by juxtaposing seemingly dissimilar objects or portraying ordinary objects in an unusual light: at closer look however, most of these objects hold a metaphorical connection.
  

For example, lets look at Time Transfixed.
Upon first inspection, the train seems to be going through the fire place.

By looking closer, we notice that the fire place clearly mimics a tunnel, and the smoke from the train temporarily replaces the smoke from the fire that should be within the train.

However, this is only a moment in time. As the train progresses, it will no longer be in the "tunnel", and the smoke will no longer appear to be that of the fire. It is "time transfixed".

• Defying gravity is one of Magritte's repeating motifs.
• Uses traditional perspective to create his surreal works look as if they are plausible.
• Juxtaposes text and image quite often -- understood the power and possibilities of both the word and image.
  

The image below is This Is Not a Pipe. At first glance the viewer thinks "yes, it is", but in actuality, Magritte is right. This is not a pipe but rather it is a painting of a pipe. In this way he creates humor through his artwork.

Salvador Dalí: Dreams and Imagination

Salvador Dalí, Homage to Newton, 1985, Bronze.

What you need to know about the artist and the artwork:

Dalí

• Salvador Dalí once claimed “I myself AM Surrealism”. Dalí was among the leading artists in the group, and a crossover from the Dada movement of the 1920’s.
• A Spaniard raised in the Cataluñian town of Figures, Dalí was told by his parents at the age of five that he was the reincarnation of an older brother by the same name, who died 9 months before his birth.
• Dalí’s art career began at an early age with his first exhibition hosted by his father in their home. He went to study art in Madrid, & was expelled before finals as he claimed that none of the teachers were at a level to judge his work.
  With a lanky, frail frame, Dalí always attracted attention. This was accentuated when he grew a handle bar mustache, which would become his trademark.
• Dalí left Madrid in the mid 20’s & traveled to Paris, where he had his first meeting with Pablo Picasso, the famous Cubist, who had a great influence on Dalí’s early works. Juan Miró also had a large influence on Dalí.
• Many of Dalí’s works are characterized by his use of exaggeration & elongation as a form of abstraction. The idea of melting is also prominent in many of his works.
• Ultimately it was Dalí’s eccentric character that spiraled him into fame. He was known for wearing costumes in public, once showing up to a party with his wife & inspiration, Gala, as the Lindberg baby & kidnapper.
• While best known as a painter, Dalí was also an accomplished sculpture, jeweler, performance artist, script writer, set designer, & videographer.
• Dali fell sick in 1989 & died. He is buried in the Teatro y Museo Dalí in Figures, the crypt that he spent years building. The Theatre & Museum Dalí features many of Dalí’s works, including all his jewels, & can be visited by the public.

What is Surrealism?

1. Surrealism was an art movement that took place in Europe, and was founded in Paris in 1924
2. The Surrealists believed that it was possible to tap into the subconscious, or dream world, and looked to the beliefs of Freud and Jung for influence.
   
3. The Surrealists painted dream worlds, and typically juxtaposed seemingly dissimilar objects, that one placed in such a way, created a dialogue between each other.
   

The Work

Homage to Newton is just that: an homage to Sir Isaac Newton, the 17th century English scholar who discovered the law of gravity.

Here, Dalí has abstracted the form of a man, and left a hollow in his core, where his heart and innards should be, whereby a sphere hangs. The man is abstracted in typical Dalian fashion where things are not necessarily where they belong, like the spinal cord that snakes along the side of the gaping void.

There is some controversy as to whether or not Dalí actually designed this sculpture. He was in no state to create it himself. It was created in 1985 and sits in the CBD of Singapore.

By 1980, Dalí showed Parkinson like symptoms in his hands, and by 1982 his wife died. After that it is said that he lost the will to live, and from 1984 onward, following a fire outbreak in his bedroom that Dalí managed to be rescued from, he was moved to Figures to live out the rest of his life. It is rumoured that between 1982-1984 that his guardians forced him to sign blank canvases that would later be sold as original paintings, and thus the later works of Dalí hold questionable authenticity. This goes for Singapore's Homage to Newton sculpture created in 1985.


Dalí is best known for his paintings. Take a look at some examples below:


The Temptation of St. Anthony (1946), Metamorphosis of Narcissus (1937), The Persistence of Memory (1931).

Exam Strategies

OK. HISTORICALLY, and this is not to say that it will be the same THIS YEAR, artists and artworks that have appeared on the exam do not repeat themselves. Here is a list of the artists that haven't shown up YET. This is not an exclusive list of who you need to study. You need to know all of your artists and artwork history inside and out, but I would place more emphasis on the following, as the probability of seeing these artworks on your exam is higher.

Chua Mia Tee
Tan Tee Chie
Montien Boonma
Ibrahim Hussein
Vikas Gore
Bayu Utomo Radijikin
Georgette Chen
Hendra Gunawan
Dede Eri Supria
Chen Chong Swee
Auguste Rodin
Constantin Brancusi
Salvador Dalí
Rene Magritter
M.C. Escher
Lucia Hartini
Han Sai Por
Piet Mondrian
Antony Gromley

Good luck and happy studying! More posts to follow in the next few days.

Constantin Brancusi

Constantin Brancusi, Monument Ensemble at Tirgu Jiu, 1937, sculpture. (Gate of Kiss, Table of Silence, Endless Column)

What you need to know about the artist and the artworks?:

Historical Context: Brancusi was a restless soul. At the age of 11, he ran away from home to Targu-Jiu, an out of the way place that is not easily accessible. This is important, as it was a sort of haven for Brancusi.

Years later in 1937-1938 Brancusi constructs the Monument Ensemble at Tirgu Jiu, which consists of the Table of Silence, Gate of Kiss, and the Endless Column.

Artist’s Inspiration: The entire Monument Ensemble is an homage to the fallen heroes of WWI.

Table of Silence is representative of the table that soldiers confer at before a battle. The seats are shaped like hourglasses to symbolize the passage of time.

Gate of Kiss symbolizes the passage of soldiers from this life to the next. The motif on the pillars (the detail that you see) represents eyes watching, perhaps the eyes of God or another higher power.

Endless Column is considered to be the “spiritual will” of Brancusi.

It is also said that since the River Jiu runs very near to Tirgu Jiu, that this river is the way that the souls of the “hero soldiers” will reach the other life. This is reminiscent of Greek mythology and the River Styx’s.

Brancusi's early works were influenced by Rodin (see earlier post).

Remember that with any artwork that is walked through, as it is a part of a space, the experience of the viewer will change with every experience through the space based on the surrounding environment and others who are also occupying the space.

Brancusi is best known for his work Bird In Space (1923), a simplification that provides the essence of a bird as it glides through space.