Thursday, May 2, 2013

History is Art, Art is History


 
4/30/13:
“A Short History of Modernist Painting” Mark Tansey

If there were any work to finish on, it would be this one.  This perfectly sums up everything this year, and shows how Art has transitioned from the Renaissance until now.  The work is a series of three images that each represent a period of time.  The first image is a woman spraying the windows with a hose, meant to represent the Renaissance, in which Art was considered a window onto nature, with the artist “spraying” the picture onto a canvas.  The second image is of a man butting his head against a wall, meant to represent Modernism, in which Art was seen as an object with no meaning and the artist was disconnected from the narrative-essentially hitting his/her head against a wall.  The third picture is of a rooster staring into a mirror, meant to represent Modern Art today, and how the artist tends to look at themselves instead of the rest of the world.  What is interesting about the third image for me is that the image is of a rooster, which seems to suggest that the artist is saying that by not focusing on the rest of the world, artists are “chicken” and afraid to confront what they might see if they opened their eyes.  What’s also interesting is that the painting’s style is very modern and the images are symbolic rather than representational, suggesting that the artist is also saying that in conjunction with the former statement, HERE is how you do it.

Bio on the artist:


Renaissance in art:


Brief information on Modernist movement:


Where is art headed today?

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