Assignment 1

In Jan Van Eyck's painting, Portrait of Giovanni Arnolfi(?) and His Wife, Giovanna Cenami(?) , I was ammused by the fashion of creating a garment for the woman to be worn in such a way as to make her look pregnant. The fact that her appearance of fertility is considered attractive is still applied to our world today. The advent of botox to plump a woman's lips, which makes a woman appear more voluptuos and sexual as well as the "baby doll" tops that make even the slightest of girls look pregnant and were all the rage a few years back are remnants of the historical context that a fertile woman is more valuable than an infertile one.

My Personality in Three works of Art

I have chosen the three works of art below which I feel reveal some aspect of my personality:




This painting by the American painter,Henry Potthast, depicts my deepest desires. The free movement of the garments and the color palette give a sense of calm and freedom. That is how I want life to always be, calm and free! In addition, the content of this painting, A Day At the Beach, is my idea of an ideal day. I love the sea! The subjects, a woman and her child represent family to me. Family and socializing is something I value strongly. This is a classical image of a day on the beach as it is imagined to be spent by the bourgeoisie on the East Coast of the U.S. during the time period.



Amedeo Modigliani is one of my favorite artists! The figure in this painting is much like myself - somewhat ordinary at first glance, but in some ways extraordinary. The unfinished quality of the painting with minimal detail of the garment, the blank eyes and the lack of ornamentation is how I feel- still so much is yet to be expressed! What you see now is only the hint of what is to come or might be. Just like this painting, where very little is revealed about the subject, I too am a reserved person who you must get to know to really understand who I am and what I am up to. If I am understanding the term correctly, Humanism, is the way that Modigliani seems to paint. His paintings are primarily portraits and human figures. He expresses the world and himself through human beings.

This mobile by Alexander Calder is a superb example of my philosophy on life - play is beautiful! Often his work is non-representational. I like to live my life in this manner, not always having what I do have purpose or meaning - just doing things for the fun or joy or sheer beauty is enough reason to me. I enjoy the playful juxtaposition that is in much of Calder's work and how he also includes movement, i.e. change. His mobiles are so fun and as they move they change appearance. That also reveals apart of me- I thrive on change! I have lived many lives- corporate, yacht crew, factory owner, flight attendant, and as I moved through those lives, my appearance, although essentially the same, changed.

There is so much to see of oneself through art. It is why it appears to be the ultimate form of self-expression.

First Time For Everything!

Never thought an Art class would be where I would learn to enter the world of technology! I am now a Blogger - who'd a thunk?

More later...