George Caleb Bingham

George Caleb Bingham is known as the first exceptional talent coming out of the "West" in the 1800s. I'm not usually too intrigued by this kind of work, but I really like his use of light and dark, and I think the drama in the shape and intensity of his shadows are quiet beautiful. I think the moment captured in the fur-trader painting is really serene and beautiful.

The style he paints in is the American art style called "Luminism". His paintings are iconic images of 19th century American Frontier life. He become know as the Missouri artist and most of his works are at art museum in Missouri.

So, this is just some basic information. It's good to know a little more (since I started at zero) about this artist.

*Luminism is characterized by showing light of landscapes by hiding brushstrokes. That's sort of what I noticed in the drama Bingham produces in the shapes of his shadows. They are evidence of his eliminating certain brushstrokes. Work described in this style comes out of the Hudson River School. The effect of light shown with luminism is similar to Impressionism (though the style look very different).

The state of the thinking

So, I've been on sabbatical for almost a year (haha...just kidding, but a sabbitical is sort of what I would liken my experience here to...minus the master's degree). There was a lot of adjusting, some bumps, and even some wasted time, but I feel like I've figured things out.

I know I want to go to graduate school and I think I know what I want to do there.

Now, I am looking at about a year to make it happen.

I've got one painting finished.

It was scary deciding not to go home and "be a graphic designer" or go to grad school for graphic design. But, it's really what I was thinking was the right thing to do, and I was just afraid to say it.

So, here are my plans:

1) one painting a month
2) take an art course at Yuan Ze
3) work on school research and applications
4) art history
5) isms
6) define my work/style/purpose

If I were to define my work, I would say that it is about thinking. It intends to explore curious happenings of life and existence. I do this through narrative paintings with stories living in the paint.

Process has become an important aspect of my work. Call it a lesson plan even. A set of rules to get you going on your way that could just as easily be arbitrary as they are implicit in guiding the outcome of a piece.

I find it worthwhile and a little entertain, playful, but playful with substance, to write brain on every painting I do in a different language (the language being chosen based on what is appropriate for the painting). For me, it's a fun process of concrete to abstract (which is also a good representation of how we think).

Brain the organ (concrete), brain the word (abstract), brain the actions and story of a person or idea (concrete), brain a structural form within a painting (abstract).

I am constantly intrigued by the idea of balance. Polar opposites and contradictions coexisting.

These are the ideas that I hope to inspire my body of work into something of substance and meaning.

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

It's so cool to start studying these histories a little more. I just finished reading about Pope Alexander having Bernini redesign St. Peter's (who Michaelangelo finished). But apparently, he did a lot of sculptures in the Basilica. Pretty amazing stuff.

It's crazy to think that I actually saw this stuff in real life too. It was so impressive. I've seen a bunch of stuff in the past few years, and but not much compares to turning corners in St. Peter's. Amazing stuff.

So, here's some more information about it.

Bernini was an extremely talented person. He painted, sculpted, wrote plays, and received attention from Popes granting commissions at a pretty early age.

His most impactful work (I think) would have to be the redesign of Saint Peter's and the sculptures within. I think the sculpture that really caught my eye and made my jaw drop was the tomb for Pope Alexander VII. Over the door to the tomb are huge, flowing drapes made out of marble. It's insane to image to materials that are so different enabling such a realistic likeness.

Bernini was deeply religious, and in a lot of his work, you can see light to add to the drama and meaning of a sculpture.

Max Beckmann

Beckmann lived from 1884 to 1950. He was a German sculptor, painter, draftsman, and writer. After reading a little about him, his story seems somewhat unfortunate. He was a successful artist in the years before WWII in Germany but ran into trouble with Hitler's disapproval of modern art.

He is considered to be a part of the Expressionist movement (although he rejected being a part of it). In the 1920s he was a part of New Objectivity which grew out of Expressionists but rejected their introverted emotionalism.

He did a lot of self-portraits and is rivaled by Picasso and Rembrandt (who apparently did a lot of self-portraits - I think I knew about Picasso but not Rembrandt).

In the Weimar Republic he received lots of honors and was a teacher at the School of Art in Frankfurt. In 1933, the Nazi's dismissed him from his position there and confiscated 500 of his works from German Museums.

For 10 years, he lived in poverty in Amsterdam and then moved to the US where he taught at Washington University in St. Louis and the Brooklyn Museum. He had a fatal heart-attack in 1950.

His work comes from a period of huge societal and art world changes. Many of his paintings express the agony of world-torn Europe. He was less interested in non-representational paintings and turned to figurative painting.

Frances Bacon

I first learned about this artist when I took an art history class in France. I couldn't believe I had never heard of him and Iam really intrigued by the way he distorts the human form. I find it really fascinating.

Just a little bit of basic research about him:

He was born in Dublin and is Irish/British. He seemed to have a bit of a tumultuous upbringing. His family had pretty noble roots, however he was a bit of a black sheep it seems. He had a shaky relationship with his father. His father caught him wearing his mother's underwear and was no doubt very disappointed to see Bacon show up to a family dinner party dressed in drag (a flapper girl at that).

He sort of wandered around being a gentleman's companion and getting to know people of the art world in Berlin, Paris, and London.

His artistic yearnings were aroused by a Paris show of about 100 of Picassos drawings.

He is described as a magnetic personality whose "wit and generosity" could "light up the day" and he could "just as equally plunge into gloom".

His work seems to represent Bacon's ideas on life's being ridiculous or a charade. He was interested in crucifixion where the are a group of people helplessly watching human agony and pain. He was also inspired by the idea of the open mouth, agonizing scream.

new idea

It's weird how many ideas get inspired by my dad's poems. I guess that's okay, though.

I like the idea of his love poem. Love is confusing.

So, here's my new idea. Brain in Greek, I think:

It's either called "Ode to 'Ode to a Grecian Urn'" or "A Love Story."

It will be an abstract representation of love. One that on the first level of thought might seem bad, but that is actually okay. Not bad. Good even.

I was thinking about the idea that we are made up of cells and molecules and atoms. And each of those parts within ourselves can broken down even more and when you look closely enough, there is space between everything. So when you love someone there's always going to be that little distance. Physically and figuratively. It reminded me of the poem by Keats, "Ode to a Grecian Urn" which I am re-reading. It's a difficult read for me, but I'm excited to read it.

The part of the poem that I want to delve into is the tragedy in the loves being frozen for eternity and never able to kiss.

This might sound like a sad idea - and I think in the Urn's case it is a sad idea. I guess I would like to think of it in terms of it not being sad. Looking on the bright side, I guess. Because what makes loves so wonderful is not closing the gaps. It's the desire to love that makes love so special. The desire to love despite its challenges and the pain that it sometimes brings. The good out weighs the bad.

I am also seeing a connect here about Keats and his long never reached love of Fanny Brawne. Hmm. In the poem, Keats tells the lovers not to fear because their love is perfect. I guess what I would be saying if for real love not to fear because although our love might not be perfect we can be completely satisfied because the good outweighs the bad idea. hmmmm.

I guess that's something I'm really liking to with paintings. Connect ideas. Hmm. Hmm. Hm.

This link has info:
http://european-literature.suite101.com/article.cfm/ode_on_a_grecian_urn

This is the poem:

THOU still unravish’d bride of quietness,
Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,
Sylvan historian, who canst thus express
A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:
What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape	5
Of deities or mortals, or of both,
In Tempe or the dales of Arcady?
What men or gods are these? What maidens loth?
What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape?
What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?	10
2. Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:
Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave	15
Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;
Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,
Though winning near the goal—yet, do not grieve;
She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,
For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!	20
3. Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed
Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu;
And, happy melodist, unwearied,
For ever piping songs for ever new;
More happy love! more happy, happy love!	25
For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,
For ever panting, and for ever young;
All breathing human passion far above,
That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d,
A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.	30
4. Who are these coming to the sacrifice?
To what green altar, O mysterious priest,
Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies,
And all her silken flanks with garlands drest?
What little town by river or sea shore,	35
Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel,
Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn?
And, little town, thy streets for evermore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.	40
5. O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede
Of marble men and maidens overwrought,
With forest branches and the trodden weed;
Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought
As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral!	45
When old age shall this generation waste,
Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe
Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,
“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,”—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.	50

This is the urn:

New idea - brain

I think the idea of the human brain (sounds so gross put that way) is the driving force in what I do, investigate, and what will probably inspire any painting I do.

So...I have an idea that any painting I do (at least in this stage of my thinking and painting) should have a brain. But a literal image of the brain is not quite right because what I love about our brains is the ability abstract ideas in order to make it more efficient to build upon others ideas for generation upon generation.

So, I think I was use abstract versions of "brain" that the human brain has conjured up to represent the brain - and that would be words. Language. I want to use the word or character for brain in different languages (with making sure to choose the appropriate painting to compliment the ideas and intent of the painting).

But the idea would be that an abstract structure of the brain would concretely structure the abstact representation of a person's story.

Below is a hopefully less confusing visual presentation of this idea:

Another quick idea.

Paintings of scientific microscope slides.

John James Audubon

So John James was born in the late 1700s near modern Haiti (Santo Dominigo). He was the illegitimate offspring of a Spanish-Creole chambermaid and French sea captain.

He was sent to the US to oversee his father's estate in Pennsylvania and avoid being conscripted into Napoleon's army.

Apparently he was not very good at overseeing estates but was a marvelous painter and illustrator of wildlife.

His love was of birds and he is for whom the Audubon bird society is named. He was also one of the major figures in publishing the huge work, Birds of America. Here are some beautiful illustrations of his:

A quick new idea.

Um...Maybe fake blogger words turns into a make data painting or drawing.

How things are going.

I guess it's good every once in a while to pause and think about how things are going, right?

So, I've been working on the 1000 years painting. It's coming along, but something's not quite right. Maybe It's too large? I don't know. The grass is what's bothering me. The grass is not quite right I guess. I'll keep working on it. I think it will be a really nice painting to have in the future. Because it will always remind us of Kona.

So...I'm trying not to be discouraged as far as a portfolio goes. I think the next thing I do will have realistic aspects as well as abstract. It will be representational and communicate a certain idea.

So, I think I will probably do the The Present Doesn't Exist painting first. That will be fun to do because it will have typography. The violinist will have realistic colors, but I think I will use a vibrant color palette for everything else.

If I don't do that maybe I will do something landscape or portrait.

Time to pran some lessons!

The present doesn't exist

So, for this painting I think I will do a painting of a person playing the violin. There will be numbers and colors radiating like music and centered around a non-point that has a pin pointing to it. The goal of the painting is to recall the story of the man playing in the DC metro making $32 on a 3.5 million dollar violin while playing one of the most beautiful and intricate pieces ever written. Being completely unnoticed. His recent show was sold out for 100 dollars a seat.

I think the idea I want to communicate is that the present doesn't exist. We don't live in the present. That's impossible. But maybe we should try.

Jean Arp

This is an interesting artist. His name is Jean Arp (and had to legally change from Hans to Jean when Alsace-Lorraine switched from German to French).

I thought this was funny: he was supposed to be drafted but when he was registering put the date in every blank on the form and then took off all his clothes when he walked over to turn in his paper-work.

He was a part of the surrealist and dada movements and contributed a lot to relief sculpture. He also wrote in Free conscious style, and wrote poetry.

Guiseppe Arcimboldo

I think I've seen these before from Arc. They are pretty famous, but I didn't really know anything about them or about the artist. I was so excited to see them because I didn't realize that people painted like this in the 1500s. Some people say that these are the first surrealist paintings, but they are more likely a reaction to the growing interest in science and nature. They are considered to be in the movement of mannerism.

Arcimboldo was from Milan and did work conventional work for various cathedrals and for the Duomo. He also did portraits for Hapsburg royalty. His conventional work is lost, but these bizarre paintings have sparked a lot of interest and inspiration over the last few centuries. They inspired Dali expecially.

Some art historians think these were the work of a derranged mind. Some don't think they were and they were just part of the facsination of the times. Da Vinci, for example, and his grotesque head explorations.



















winter



















spring



















summer



















autumn



















vertemus



















the librarian

Physics

So, I think I just realized what I wanted to do for physics. I want to do a little MUJI book. Maybe I will do a few and the finished product is a shelf of books. Outside stays white. You have to open the book and read.

There would be something so intimate and beautiful about an art exhibit where you have to sit and read a book. An art book. I have a vision of it where there is an old comfortable chair, a book shelf, and an overhead lamp.

1000 years painting

Another thought about 1000 years is sometimes I just want to paint something realistically. My dad said that he thought I captured a very evocative and distinguished expression (one of the best he's seen - but I attribute that to him always being so supportive and positive).

Anywho...I keep coming back to the fact that it's okay to have a really realistic painting. Meaning lives in the painting. I think it's a more talking piece...talks about humanity's 1000 year history with dogs and leading up to this moment where Justin and I can have the most special human to non-human relationship that I think there is.

Alexander Archipenko

So, I was just reading a quick introduction to Alexander Archipenko. He is best know for cubist sculptures in bronze, terra cotta, mother of pearl, and plastic. He was one of the first to introduce negative space into sculpture. He had trouble staying in Art schools (Kiev and Paris) and ended up learning about sculpture through self-study at the Louvre. In Paris, he lived in Colony La Ruche with other Russian immigrants.

When I look at his abstract sculptures, I see beautiful, graceful forms. He captures the perfect posture into which each subject would ideally pose. If I imagine a gondolier standing and rowing a gondola, this is the stance he would take. But Archipenko demonstrates this quintessential posture with the most simplistic forms. I think the same goes for his female form. The curve of the inward angle of her waist is right, and her reaching over to comb her hair produces a slight slant in her posture (also the need to have one leg forward order to stay balanced) is just right as well. Yet, again, this is all done with the most beautifully simplistic forms. Wikipedia mentions his ability to show different viewpoints from one view. I guess that's very cubist practice that you see in a lot of Picasso's famous paintings. He worked and showed with Cubist artists like Georges Braques and Picasso.

The present doesn't exist.

Times beats at different rates depending on fast you move. This dawned on Einstein while in Switzerland looking at a famous clock.

I guess I am inspired by these ideas and my dad's poems and one more of my dad's ideas. That time is also like a book that with pages turn one way while your memory turns them the other.

How do I make these two things a painting?

It's almost making me want to combine the wine glass painting and the pinpoint painting.

time painting could include:
twin...one very old (or maybe a photo of someone's youth and old age)
wine glass
book
clock and airplane
pin pointing numbers

Painting Idea

So, I've been talking about this for a while, and I sort of think I've figured about how to get started. I want to get Tess drunk and have her start talking about biology and evolution. Maybe take portraits on the camera as we go.

So, it could start where we start talking about it. I will makes sure to ask questions. Record the conversations...Every 10 minutes take a shot. Cameral shot, too.

Some how (don't know how yet) take the photos and conversations (as it probably humorously evolves) and turn that content into a painting.

There are a lot of idunnos here, but I think the important thing would be to get started. I wonder how in a portfolio I can explain process. I don't know if I will be able to necessarily. It needs to be there obviously...it will live in the paint, but the opportunity to explain it would be cool. Maybe during interviews.

Interviews...SCARY. Treat it like a new class. Confident. Smilely. Not Nervous.

(Sept 23) So, I've been thinking about this more and I think I have some more concrete ideas. I think this might include portraits, showing an evolution. Somehow. Don't know yet. Include biology illustation feel maybe? Talks about how we are getting drunk with our destruction of the planet.

Also cool how an artist and a scientist are similar. Question and curiosity.

Diane Arbus

Some really cool photography. I was suprised at how daring these photos are for the 50s and 60s. She was known for taking photos of societies freaks getting really close to the subject. More than what was normal. She's called one of the most original and influential photographers of the 20th century. She taught at Parsons, RISD, and Cooper Union. She committed suicide at age 48, and has a bit of a cult following.

Here are some photos. The twins one is echoed in the Shining. Was this sort of image creepy before The Shining, or did The Shining make it creepy. Hmm. I dunno.

Anon

I feel dumb. At first I thought this was one of those one word names, but then I realized Anon stood for anonymous. So, this is a look at some of the great anonymous works in history.


















Venus of Willendorf, ca. 24,000-22,000 BC – I have never seen or heard about this. What an interesting look at the female form. People think it might be celebration of fertility.













Cave paintings, Lascaux, ca. 15,000-10,000 BC – A bunch of french kids an their dog (Robot) discovered this. Over the years there has been a lot of damage done by visitors, so it's closed to the public now.












Stonehenge, ca. 2950-1500 BC – I heard that this is now thought to be tombs.














Khufu's Pyramid, Giza, ca. 2590-2565 BC














Terra Cotta Army, Xian, ca. 221 BC – I had heard of this but I didn't realize it was actual Terra Cotta. Pretty impressive.



















Venus de Milo, ca. 200 BC – This made me think of Greek and Gothic art. I know that many good things happened in Gothic art, but it's interesting to see that in 200 BC people were so good at the human form, and that this skill was lost and not rediscovered until the Renaissance.



















Book of Kells, ca. 800 AD – I loved seeing this in person with Justin. Amazing.














Easter Island moai, ca. 1000-1200


















Bayeux Tapestry, ca. 1077


















Rose Windows of Chartes Cathedral, 1217-25