#7. Non Western : 1

 

Spring Morning in the Han Palace was painted by Qiu Ying.  I could not find exact date of painting was done.  Qiu Ying (1494? – 1552) was a Chinese painter who specialized in the gongbi brush technique.  He was born to a peasant family in Taicang and studied painting under Zhou Chen in Suzhou.  He painted with the support of wealthy patrons, creating images of flowers, gardens, religious subjects, and landscapes in the fashions of the Ming Dynasty, and acquired a few wealthy patrons [1].

 

I really like Spring Morning in the Han Palace because Qiu Ying used Gongbi technique.  Gongbi is a careful realist technique in Chinese painting, the opposite of the interpretive and freely expressive xieyi style.  The gongbi style had its beginnings approximately 2000 years ago during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD).  The gongbi technique uses highly detailed brushstrokes that delimits details very precisely and without independent or expressive variation [2].

 

In Spring Morning in the Han Palace, Qiu’s use of the brush was meticulous and refined, and his depictions of landscapes and figures were orderly and well-proportioned.  In addition to his paintings being elegant and refined, they are also quite decorative.  There are 115 characters in the painting, most of them concubines.  There are also imperial children, eunuchs and painters.  This hand scroll work is a representation of various daily activities in the palace in the early spring [3].

 

 

References

[1]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiu_Ying

[2]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongbi

[3]. http://www.china.org.cn/top10/2011-11/08/content_23854076_2.htm

 

 

 

 

#6. Post Modern

Rx Art works by Jeff Koons at Advocate Hope children’s Hospital 2010.

Jeff Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects such as Balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces [1].  Jeff Koons worked on ambitious projects at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois [2].  To create the installation, the Philips CT Scanner was painted, and decals featuring Koons’ Monkeys were applied to the machine.  His iconic Balloon Dog, Hanging Heart, and Donkey imagery were also installed to brighten the room as wallscapes [3].  This project was made possible through the generosity of Kiehl’s since 1851 and Jeff Koons, who generously took no artist fee for his participation in this project. I think Jeff koons did a great work on this CT Scanner project at Advocate Hope Children’s Hospital.  This room is filled with bright colors, monkey heads, and a huge dog balloon.  I think anything that could make a child, and their worried parents, feel less scared in a situation like this absolutely inspirational.

A Closer Winter Tunnel, 2006 by David Hockney

Interior with Lamp, 2003 by David Hockney

Saturday Rain I, 2003 by David Hockney

David Hockney is an English painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer.  An important contributor to the Pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists of the twentieth century [4].  A closer winter tunnel, February-March 2006 was the first of his multiple canvas paintings.  This 6 part painting was painted not in the studio but entirely on the spot with Hockney moving from one canvas to another, assembling the units together to see the overall effect as a very large picture [5].  Interior With Lamp is watercolor on paper on 6 sheets, and Saturday Rain I was painted in two panel with watercolor.  I like his contemporary art because his delicate painting showing a mastery of both detail and perspective.  I also like the technique that he uses different sheets of papers put together to make paintings instead of one big paper.

 

References

[1]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Koons

[2]. http://www.highsnobiety.com/2010/07/01/rxart-x-jeff-koons-art-at-advocate-hope-childrens-hospital/

[3].http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=39063#.UKSkfhy6OsY

[4]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hockney

[5]. http://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/239.2007.a-f/

#5. Early Modern Art and The Great Depression

Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II.  It was the longest, most widespread, and deepest depression of the 20^th century [1].  The economic collapse, and the political instability caused by World War I led the rise of fascism in Europe to World War II.  It had devastating effects on all sectors of the economy for over a decade.  Hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs, businesses failed and financial institutions collapsed [2].

I chose the “American Farm” painted in 1936 by Joe Jones.  He made this painting of an American Farm while the United States was suffering from the Great Depression.  Winds swept across the plains and dust storms darkened the sky, leaving layers of dust everywhere, even inside the buildings.  The farmhouse sits on a little patch of green grass overlooking the desolate landscape.  The barn on the left looks as though it has been blown sideways by the wind, and there is not a single person in sight [3].  This painting truly influenced by The Great Depression and I can see that the artist expressed his feelings and thoughts how devastating period to the American people.

 

 

References:

 

[1]. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

[2]. http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/westn/causeww2.html

[3]. http://whitney.org/ForKids/Collection/JoeJones