What is Performance Art?

Performance art is an art that combines two or more artistic media, a traditionally static medium such as sculpture or photography, and a dramatic medium like recitation or improvisation. It usually presents only an audience or does present to the audience with the audience’s participation. Time, space, the performer’s body, or presence in the medium, and a relationship between performer and audience are four basic resources to be from the performance area. Performance arts become more creative with advance media or technique materials such as photographs by varied artists.

 As picture beside, it is one of examples of performance art of remix art. We can see that how artist will  apply fantastic beam by a computer into a landscape photo of a real world. It seems real that a man shooting beams or gathering the beams over the pool under soft and clear combination include matching colors.

 As a picture left side, any artist might create pattern art on fabric base on shape of humans. Each part such as an arm or head has a different pattern life snail - shape pattern on head side and triangle pattern on one of the arm’s side. It is amazing performance art that turns boring fabric into fantastic and creative artwork.

 As picture right side, any people can present themselves as the art. With familiar group dance in interesting costume base in tradition, present, of both could create fresh and wonderful performance art.

Marina’s photos are fresh performance art as above artworks; however, it is hard to accept her artworks as the art. Her entire photo is about her abusing moments by herself or other people like scene that she was hurt by some man. She also used violent tools such as knife and gun. These photos are very shocking and unappreciated to the audience to watch. Additionally, it can affect negatively to young children because they are still in progress to build their personality, and humanism. Some adult even can have different views for crimes as in her photos. It is good and free that each artist discovers their own creative performance art unless it can cause criminal activities or negative affection on our society.

James Abbott McNeil Whistler verses Edward Munch

Artist James Abbott McNeil Whistler and Edward Munch are creative artists on their way. They used emotional paintings on their artworks as a technique when other artists are focusing on line, shape, dimension, and ideals about politics or daily life.

Artist James and Edward were used same technique called ‘emotional painting’ on their artworks. Each artist chose the best colors to give better expression about their views and a feeling to particular thing such as man is in the boat under the bridge or stranger on top of the bridge. In addition, they also choose the bridge and the sea as a background on their artworks. The bridge and sea are majority subjects on their artworks. Furthermore, they used some line techniques on their artworks.

Artist James’ artwork ‘Nocturne in Blue and Gold’ was painted with blue color only. Blue color has many meanings: sadness, cool, freedom, god of stability and order, dark and disturbing power. In his artwork, the blue color represents calm and sadness. Man was standing insecurely on top corner of the boat in the middle of sea like he is going to jump into the sea. Artist James also used horizontal and vertical lines on the bridge, and used diagonals on the boat, and the boundary between the sea and harbor. These lines make the picture looks stable and strong.

Unlike ‘Nocturne in Blue and Gold’, Artist Edward used more than one color in his artwork ‘The Scream’. He used red (mostly), black, blue, orange, and mixed colors. He tried to express horror, blood, and anguish through red color. Moreover, he tried to express more horror feeling with horizontal, vertical, and unstable lines, and action of the character like bald man in painting hold each hand on different sides of unstable face and body and large open mouth and eyes.

I am surprised that colors have their own meanings and can affect people’s mind. It will be best if anybody uses this technique to express global problems such as water pollution by trashes.

Thomas Eakins verses Jean-Antoinc Wattean

Artist Thomas Eakins and Jean-Antoinc Wattean are very amazing and interest artists. They well understood the usage of the lines and applied on their artworks: ‘The Biglin Brothers Racing’ and ‘The Embarkation for Cynthera’. These artworks base on the lines toward movement and direction gave the audience strong impressions.

Both Artist Thomas and Jean-Antoinc’s artworks are based on the direction and movement. People from their artworks are facing and going toward one direction like men in ‘The Biglin Brothers Racing’ shipping towards the harbor and people in ‘The Embarkation for Cythera’ walking toward the ship. Additionally, people and backgrounds from both pictures based on the horizontal, vertical, or both lines; these lines are connected to the movement. Landscapes are backgrounds on both pictures.

Artist Thomas used many horizontal lines and diagonals in his artwork ‘The Biglin Brothers Racing’. A ship, sea, and the boundary between sea and mountain have drawn basing on horizontal lines; and the skyscraper, people’s arms, and paddle has drawn basing on diagonals. These lines provide the visual powers, and capture the streamlined quality of sculling. Additionally, this picture is non-colorful and painted mostly with dark colors. These colors provide the audience peace and boring mood.

Unlike Thomas’s artwork, Jean’s artwork ‘The Embarkation for Cynthera’ has a curved line upon the crowd of people who is waiting or going toward the ship. It calls the audience’s attention toward the sitting couple on bottom of picture where the line started. It also led the audience to track the line. Furthermore, it was painted with lighter colors than dark colors. This matching color provides peaceful, exciting, and happy mood to the audiences. I can feel some sunshine from this picture unlike ‘The Biglin Brothers Racing’.

I could have different feelings from their paintings. I feel their artworks are more stable and emotional. I also could feel the strength on their picture unlike other artwork I ever saw.

What is Art?

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items- often with symbolic significance- in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. For instance, one of my drawings show up a bending tree which bends as a human by the heavy weight of the trashes, stands on the trash, and surrounds by dead nature. It represents pollution by trash kills our nature, people, and our living places as a result. I concern natural pollution problems seriously and I want to be left strong impression about it to warn people who throw trash everywhere. Art encompasses a diverse range of human activities, creation, modes of expression through the music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings (Drawing, painting, and making is not the only way to express the art). I used drawing method by symbolic picture to influence people’s thoughts but I also can we writing or a photograph to shows the purpose of my subject like to write about the percentage of the pollution by people and the effects of the pollution. It is lack of the idea to shows purpose to think drawing, painting, playing music, and making is only art.

Art from the past was not variety as much as today. Art materials such as canvas and paints were very expensive, and there are limitations of drawings by people’s view based on a background such as religious and war (some of the country did not give freedom of the art). Many artists followed traditional ways of art like drawing a picture on a canvas, use traditional literature words, and hear the classical music. Therefore, the definition of art was not well established in the past by the matrix.

Our art is change over the time by the invention of technical products such as computer and camera by some scientists. Unlike an old century, present people have freedom in the art and can enjoy varieties of new arts of technical products like make a video about own performance, use media to post videos, and songs, and pictures, and use photoshop create new pictures. Additionally, we can enjoy more than one art at the same time and mix art. For one thing, artist listening the music while drawing the picture. Definition of art is more stable to people and will apply in the modern society.

Thomas Cole verses Wang Jian

Landscapes are most common and amazing subject to an art. Many different landscapes are around our living places, and it is cost less to be subject of our artworks. Artist Tomas Cole and Wang Jian are artists who have picked the nature to subject for their artworks. Their artworks were based on their country background and express details of the nature well as ‘The Oxbow’ by Tomas and ‘White Clouds over the Xiao and Xiang’ by Wang. It may make the audience to visit these landscapes when seeing their artworks.

Artist Tomas and Wang have some similarities on their artworks. They didn't add any imaginary part on their drawings like flowers or tress form other landscapes or the animals that do not live in this landscape to make better looking. Additionally, their detail artworks show that they tried to give every detail on each natural subject as below. Each leafs, branches, and trunks of ‘The Oxbow’ and ‘White Clouds over the Xiao and Xiang’ represent their own beauty and characteristics.

Artist Thomas ‘The Oxbow’ represents a specific place in Massachusetts. This drawing mostly focus on bending trees on the mountain; it shows how the bending tree has different characteristics from normal trees with curved branch on strange angle and sharp wood pieces from the trunk. Additionally, he has been putting light and darkness clearly in his artwork like he painted darkness color hazily in further area and light colors clearly in the near area from his view. It helps us where he is working on his artwork. He also used sharp shapes and natural colors like green to express wild plants. We can just feel fresh and green by the view of his painting as we are in the mountain.

Unlike Artist Thomas’s ‘The Oxbow’, Artist Wang’s ‘White Clouds over the Xiao and Xiang’ is a macro view of the mountain and non-colorful. His painting is the view from the highness sky, can see the surface of the top of the mountains and some clouds around the mountains. Furthermore, he did not give clear light and darkness in his painting, so it is hard to discover both near and further views of his landscape. In addition, it is hard to feel fresh nature and left bleak mood of his painting of the dark color such as black.

Natural drawings are my favorite subjects for the art. Each landscape has its own detail. It is very interesting to figure out detail and express every detail on my drawings.

An Egyptian Artist Verses Robert Rauschenberg

Not only imaginary and solid products such as desk or doll can be subject to an art, our daily life also might be better examples to the art as an Egyptian artist and Robert Rauschenberg did on their artworks. The Egyptian artist shows Egyptian’s past daily life through own self’s artwork. Artist Robert expresses his artwork base on the visual impact of daily life as his artwork ‘Windward’. Their artworks prove that anybody can express their artworks amazement with our daily life base on photographers and model depicting.

Their artworks have some similarities. Their artworks are base on the backgrounds, characteristics, and cultures of their century. For instance, the Egyptian Artist’s artwork ‘The Counting of Livestock’ shows Egyptian men’s characteristics of labor in own self’s century such as using animals to farming. In other hand, Robert’s photographic image shows the development of machines, characteristics of architecture, and present animal. Both they were using a drawing or painting for their artworks.  

The Egyptian’s artwork’s model depicting made of wood and placed on top of the wood unlike other artworks. This artist designed detail fully about people’s customs and the characteristics of the animals like that labor men in this painting have been long hair and was using a fabric for the clothes, and they used animals as tools for growing plants. Moreover, this artist was using paintings base on the characteristics of the creature. It adds some reality appearance and perfect matching between two different materials: wood model depicting and painting.

Unlike model depicting of Egyptian’s life, Artist Robert artwork’s ‘Windward’ made of several pieces of single images on a canvas as beside. In addition, some of the photograph was posting two times by different color and difference clearance such as photographs about ‘free woman statue’. He also used paintings as background behind the images or between the images naturally with color matching. His techniques help the audience have pleasure views in his art works and perfect conceptual and visual connection.

When I draw something, I did not have an idea to use the single image and our daily life in my artwork because I thought it can be boring. However, now I can see how amazing artwork can be produce by the single image and scenes of our daily life.

What is reality? Which is reality?

There is no specific definition and rule of reality. Any views and objects can be reality. Several different realities are out there, and people can have more than one reality. People’s views, interests, thoughts, backgrounds, experiences, and dreams are tools to decide the realities. Everyone has different reality and hard to have the same reality for 100 percent because they have different views, interests, thoughts, experiences, backgrounds, and dreams. Sometimes, people can be finding their reality from their dreams or sources like books and movies. Sometimes, they also find their realities from their daily life and living places. In addition, their realities can be changed over a time. For me, my realities are landscapes, supernatural things, and educations. Drawing is my favorite hobby and primary subject in my life. Additionally, I love to draw the different landscape and supernatural drawings particularly. Therefore, the landscape and supernatural things like time machine are my first concern and make me believe these are real and exist as I believe time machine. I also believe that education is real. Since I started to learn and study in young childhood, the education charge part of my mind and brain. This education control is my knowledge and behavior over the years, it probably makes me think it is real that entire world place under the education.

This fact might not true and real; it can be just a trick by the matrix that I learned last class on Tuesday as people do not believe cave art. The cave art exists inside deep cave, and water surrounds the entry of the cave. Therefore, it is hard to find the cave art and seems no possibility of using the cave as canvas. It is also the trick by the matrix. The current population used to live easy and comfortable life by several techniques such as cell phone and car over the years. It locks their views and thoughts about rocky and rough places. They began to wonder what dangerous happen might occur in that place before they visit there unlike our ancestors who lived difficult life by lack of techniques. To our ancestors, deep cave inside sea or river and rocky place is just normal or little hard place to go. Furthermore, there are many art materials such as canvas, papers, and plasters. Many people think that artworks in these materials are only art; they cannot think usage of nature as art materials as above. The idea of reality is very interesting lecturing subject I ever had in my life. I am happy to have an opportunity to receive this lecture and cannot wait to get similar lecture.

Picasso Pablo verses Kitagawa Utamaro

  Artist Picasso Pablo and Kitagawa Utamaro are my favorite artists in this chapter. Picasso was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor, and he is also best known for a wide variety of styles embodied in his work. Picasso demonstrates uncanny artistic talent in his early years, and changed his style based on different theories, techniques, and ideas. Kitagawa was a print maker and painter. He was considered woodblock prints and best known for his masterfully composed studies of woman. He uses particular views and emphasis on light and shade.

There are some similarities between Picasso and Kitagawa. They are representational artists; most of their artworks reflect a beauty of human and human’s life. As their artworks from both left and right sides of middle portion, they choose particular people of specific area like Japan or France and, then, draw characteristics of its appearance or its cultural activities on canvas. For instance, one of Kitagawa’s artworks shows how a Japanese woman spent her day in that century- role of Japanese women were housing, taking care of the children, assisting their husband, and keeping their beauty- the woman from this scene shows her choice of clothing texture. Additionally, their artworks are very detail. I can feel and imagine the real appearance and cultural life as well as much when I see their artworks.

Picasso’s paintings are very fantastic. He does not use formal lines, shapes, and sizes of the real appearance of human at his drawings. He started his drawings at specific person but he changes appearance by mood and characteristics. For example, a sad woman from one of his paintings, which sharp shapes and division by dark colors unlike peacefulness sleeping woman from above picture which has soft shapes and painted by light colors. Moreover, he changed the appearance by social class, position, and century like the rest of his artwork. The noble man expressed with curved long hairstyle, stylish and colorful cloth, and long mustache. However, businessman expressed with shortly sharp hair, simply cloth, and sharp face with dark paint. It is amazing that discover several characteristics or each person based on the background.

Unlike Picasso’s paintings, Kitagawa artworks are non-colorful and followed original forms, lines, and shapes like photos. Everything from his paintings like the clothes, folding fans, and appearances are not bright and unclear as a background. Moreover, he was expressing characteristics of Japanese woman as well as exactly alive person in his paintings. He showed up Japanese woman’s beauty with grand and tall hairstyle, long traditional cloth called ‘kimono’, and folding fans. He gave details in every piece of hairs and eyebrows and folding area of each clothes. His brush techniques are amazing and detailed.

Even though human drawing is not my favorite topic, - I love to draw the details of the landscape- their paintings bring me strong impression. Each their artwork is very special and has their own strong personality. Therefore, I started to love their artworks.

Vasily Kandinsky and Rebecca Purdum

Artist Vasily Kandinsky and Rebecca Purdum are interesting artists in this chapter. They were born and lived in 20^th century world that Picasso was famous with his representational and abstract artworks. They built up different view about art and use different techniques which called nonrepresentational or nonobjective art. Their art works are very fantastic and creative.

            As I said above, their art works are based on nonobjective art like ‘Swinging’ by Vasily and ‘Chin up’ by Rebecca. Their art works are very colorful and do not have specific objects for representation. Additionally, their art works have color contrast between light and dark colors like mixing red paint with black paint or placed the light colors near the dark colors without middle colors between black and light colors. Moreover, their paintings are not smooth; their paintings are either sharp or unclear. These kinds of painting make me feel like I do not finish or complete any of my daily activities.

            Vasily’s art work ‘Swinging’ is based on comparison between nonobjective painting and music as his other artworks. As he thinks that ‘music does not represent anything outside itself and compose of sounds and pitches over time’, he believes ‘nonrepresentational art would capable of affection people deeply’. Therefore, he preferred to compose of colors, forms, lines, and mathematical shapes such as triangle and rectangle into his art work ‘Swing’. As his believe, it is helpful to imagining another world which is full with mathematical shapes unlike the real world. This picture also seems to represent hidden self inside our mind.

            Unlike Vasily’s ‘Swinging’, Rebecca’s ‘Chin Up’ does not have shapes, forms, and lines, just fills out with only colors based on her own experience about her mentally handicapped siblings. Her painting is very colorful like it represents her life and feelings with her siblings. The light paints like yellow and red paints represent her family and she happily life time; the dark paints like black and green paints represent their depress life time; the mixing colors between light and dark paints like light green or brown represent both happily and depress like time at the same time or just ordinary life time.

            Their art works are very amazing. I never think to use mathematical shapes and music to express art work. I think I had a stereotype of art, and it is time to break down my stereotype for art.

Juan de Valdes Leal verses Audrey Flack

            Artist Juan de Valdes Leal and Audrey Flack are realistic artists in the past century. There are two familiar art works that they draw: ‘Vanitas’ by Juan and ‘Wheel of Fortune’ by Audrey. Their belief and art works affected by their circumstances such as religious world and social class. Their art works seem very similar like some objects which have the same meanings and belief but they used different techniques in paint and objects that represent the meaning.

            Their religious view and belief about human’s life such as no eternal life on earth were reflected in their paintings. A skull from both paintings means death. Some jewelries and objects- such as books and flowers from ‘Vanitas’, and a photograph of smiled woman from ‘Wheel of Fortune’- around the skull and represent wealth, beauty, and knowledge.  It also shows the people’s thoughts toward these things in their country. They probably felt that wealth, beauty, and knowledge are very valuable and important while living on Earth but they were trash and no useful when people face the death. Additionally, there is object such as clock or sandy clock on each picture represents both limitation life and unstoppable moment of life. There is a phrase from textbook: ‘Time passes more quickly, beauty fades, chance plays a bigger role in our lives than we like to think, death awaits. ’ It represents that anybody cannot stop any minute of the time in a moment they would stay, and cannot avoid physical status such as physical strength and death.

            These two art works, ‘Vanitas’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’, are very similar but they have some difference between them. Picture ‘Vanitas’ shows more religious belief and negative aspects than picture ‘Wheel of Fortune’. Unlike ‘Wheel of Fortune’, ‘Vanitas’ shows a big photograph which man held it in his hand, and it shows ‘Last Judgment’ by God, who judge people where to go for eternal afterlife either hell or heaven base on people’s sin and behavior on earthly life. In addition, darkness painting covers up whole Picture ‘Vanitas’, and it makes picture seems dark and sadness mood like people’s unclear and darker future. Picture  ‘Wheel of Fortune’ is full entire picture with light colors and has a portrait of smiled girl. It is likely to show people’s actively and happily life with a good fortune of tarot card which shows angel and flying animals. Moreover, Picture ‘Wheel of Fortune’ used both traditional and new items such as calendar and sandy clock to express daily life.

Their art works have very interesting meanings and very realistic. I was surprised when I learned that a piece of artwork can hold several different meanings, and all they are relate naturally to each other. I am wondering that I even can draw this kind of picture in the future.

Maya Lin verses Vincent Van Gogh

Artist Maya Lin and Vincent Van Gogh are famous and brilliant artists in the world. Maya was using a 452 ’ length of wall and psychological world to express her thoughts and views of meaning of the memorial. Vincent used feelings and ideas to express the nature and daily life. They have different subjects and material like a clock and sandy clock to express their art but some part of their artwork are similar.

Both Artist May and Vincent’s artworks are very creative. Both they are used new technique to express art. For instance, Maya used wall to express her wall, and Vincent left brush the texture of the picture. So, their picture can come freshly to the visitors. Additionally, their art works have special meaning. Maya’s art work means the connection between our world and the underworld, and Vincent’s art work means new born of people into brilliant star. I like their way to express art.

Maya is the first task of artists who create place for human purpose. Maya was a daughter of ceramist, and she built her character as architecture with hand down some skill of ceramic from her dad. Base on her career, she started to construct the Vietnam Veteran Memorial through v-shaped wall of black granite when she was only twenty two years old and undergraduate students of Yale University. Her artwork’ Vietnam Veteran Memorial’ shows her spirit and hard work to represent the honor of her country’s veterans and remark their brave and their great work for us. In addition, there were not entrance and exit, so anybody can come close to wall through grass or small road. Visitors have the opportunity to touch the name on the wall and can feel some of the veterans who fight for the country. It also has all their names include missing and dead veterans. Top of her art work means hope, healing, and reconciliation when the bottom of her art work means valley of death. Therefore, she tried to show the connection between our world and the underworld through her art work. Vincent is the second task of tangible from by feelings and ideas. He was born as a son of a minister and lived some years as a minister. He started art in late 20s’ for a career by recommend of his brother, Theo. His art work is active and colorful unlike Maya’s art work. In his art work ‘Starry Weight’, each element of world like the wind has several mixture colors with both light and dark colors and round textures by brush. Dark color presents depress and sadness and it is related to Artist Vincent’s emotional status and thoughts. It seems he had negative mood. In his drawing, star described as a newborn by people after their death. It might explain that he has some belief of afterlife or he wanted to express his hope to have a brilliant life to avoid his darkness life.

I am happy to see their art works and learn the meanings. I hope to be able to draw meaningful pictures in new technique like them but I am not good at creative as they are.

Living with Art

I was very impressed to learn that people always have a life with art like ancestor were using art in various ways to live their life; they were not using art for only expression of feelings and thoughts. The interesting thing is some ancient did not know that it is the art even though they did it and left it as a current society’s cultural asset of meaningful art work such as stemmed vessel and Stonehenge of the Neolithic era.  For instance, the Stonehenge built on Salisbury Plain in 2000-1500 B.C.E. It is the area where several stones stood in a circle with a long stone on top of two or more stones. Some archaeologist found out the 240 people whose have been buried there. By archaeologist’s research, I can guess this place is made for ancient’s graves. It has probably been one of the places that our ancestor used for life, but not for art. Additionally, art kept developing over a century of new knowledge of ancestors or new resources.  For one thing, our ancestors made stemmed vessel, bowl, storage jars, and all sorts of other practical objects came into being when they discovered that fire could harden certain kinds of clay. All they were created with a different shape and size. It is very amazing that some of living materials can be count as the art, and art does not have standard from. As Mr. Zucman’s lecturing note, the songs, remix cultures, and spam art can be count as the art, too. People can write any words that they want to express to the society. These written phrases and words are full with wonderful descriptions, and it is another kind of art. An audience can have the same impression like they do in painting or drawing when they heard the song or poetry. It is fantastic when entire universe and world are seemed to be surrounded by art. It comes freshly to me and gives me a new view toward the art.