1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO
videos you choose from the selection listed above.
The
first video I chose was Andy Warhol: Images of an Image. I chose this video
because through my own experiences I am familiar with Warhol’s work. I wanted
to lean some background information on the artist’s life as well as his
artistic motivations, I thought this video would also be the most interesting
for me.
The
second video I chose was Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art in the 50s and 60s.
I chose this piece because I have always been a fan of these two art styles. I
was interested in seeing how the two styles influenced each other and changed
thought the two decades highlighted in the video.
2. For each video list/discuss the key
concepts you learned.
In the
first video, Andy Warhol: Images of an
Image, I learned that to transfer an image to a silk scene it must first be
enlarged several times and put on a large sheet. Although the “silk screen” was
made of silk when it first appeared, today it is normally made of a mesh
material. The sheet with the picture is then placed on the silk screen and
exposed to a strong light, this produces a negative image. Next, the negative
image on the silk screen is placed over the canvas or paper that the final art
work will be placed on and ink is poured over, creating a final positive image.
The silk screen can then be used numerous times. Warhol was often inspired to
use images of famous females, especially after tragedies had happened in their
life, putting them in the spotlight. For example, he started his famous Marilyn
Monroe series after her death, his Liz Taylor series after her public divorce
and his Jackie Kennedy series after the JFK assassination. I also learned that
a main theme of his images was death, he often depicted car accidents, electric
chairs, plane crashes, suicide, and even human skulls.
In the
second video, I learned about various abstract art of the 50s and 60s. The
first painting that was discussed was Fanz Kline's C & O, painted in 1958. This painting, as well as many of Kline’s
painting is considered abstract expressionism, he is best known for large black and white
paintings that many have said resembles the NYC cityscape. bearing abstract
motifs set down with strident confidence. The next work that was examined was Helen Frankenthaler's Mountains and Sea, painted in 1952. This painting actually launched
Frankenthaler’s career in abstract expressionism, and like the paintings of
Kline, Mountains and Sea depicts the
cityscape of Nova Scotia.
An
example of pop art examined in this film was Cologneo Roy Lichtenstein's Girl with Hair Ribbon, painted in 1965. Pop
art is considered an art based on
modern popular culture and the mass media, Lichtenstein drew his inspiration from comic strips, a
very popular form of art and communication at the time.
2. How do the videos relate to the readings
in the text?
These videos
related to the text because chapter 22, From
Modern to Post Modern, dealt with art after the Second World War. In fact,
chapter 22 talked about art of the 60s and 70s which was heavily influenced by
Pop Art as well as Andy Warhol.
3. What is your opinion of the films? How do
they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?
I thought the videos were helpful. I thought the video on
Andy Warhol brought up some interesting points that the book didn’t cover, the
narrator suggested multiple times that the repetition of the faces in Warhol’s Ten Liz’s , each one flawed in its own
way from the screen process, is actually a commentary on the evils of
capitalism and the assembly line. I don’t know if that is true but it was still
an interesting perspective that the book didn’t touch on.
I
liked the second video because it went into detail on specific paintings of
abstract expressionism and pop art. While the book did talk about some of these
style paintings, the video went into detail about the artist, medium and
influences of the work.
Both
videos added depth to my understanding of the text by giving me valuable
background information on each art style that the book didn’t cover.
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