i chose Rembrandt's the Raising of the Cross. Rembrandt is the spot lit figure in the beret in the middle. in this he is trying to depict the crucifixion which is a visual metaphor for the struggle in his mind. Not for the raising of the cross but the crucifixion. Not only is he helping with raising the cross but he is also the man in the white turban in the background that is staring at the spectator that would be viewing the painting but as well as the action. last the lighting is crucial to the works meaning. It separates the two levels of reality, studio and the work. It alludes to the spiritual journey that Christ's life is a guide for. For the spectators view point, beyond   the dark freshly dug grave tells that we also must go from darkness of current life into the light of the next. To find Christ within ourselves, dead or alive. Which is a struggle to get there.
                  the idea i had in mind was instead of having a crucifixion I was going to have a firing squad lined up with high advanced weaponry of today. I was going to include my cousin in this as well as me, because he looks just like Christ. So i'll have him against the wall getting ready to be fired at. finally I was going to have me in the middle of the firing squad line ready to shoot along with everyone else.

john

    this piece is just a little tattoo idea that i randomly sketch up with a pen and color pencil, its a skeleton hand crushing a rose

Ben, Study fot the final

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio was one of the dominant powerhouses in the Baroque movement. He died at an early age, but still managed to leave a permanent mark in painting. He did so with his realist style in his paintings and his unique interest of including himself in awkward, unexpected places.

The painting entitled, "Young Bacchus" is a perfect example of his strange use of including self-portraits. At first glance you would never think he was included in this painting but after researching it, it is stated that he is painted into the small glass of wine in the bottom left corner. I already am very influenced and interested in hidden imagery, so this painting definitely hit home, and caught my interest. I think it is very bizarre how he inserts himself, but the more i thought about the idea, and the function of doing so the more interest i caught. There's a lot of potential in Caravaggio's paintings, and this method opened up a lot of doors in the painting world, and that's a big reason why i chose to work with this painting. For my drawing i plan to capture the dramatic sense of light Caravaggio creates and the idea of illuminating a object. I'm going to expand on the content he's providing(fruit, wine, and use of drapery) to create a new bizarre world.

Jason Moorer - Post 4: Martha Rosler and Drawing/Collage Study

I am inspired by Martha Rosler’s artwork. She is an artist I reference in many of my collage productions for painting class. Martha Rosler is an American artist who works in video, photo-text, installation and performance. Her collage pieces in particular contrasts the domestic lives of women with international war, repression, politics, mass media and architectural structures. Many of her other works are concerned with geopolitics and urban planning and architecture.

She when making my collage pieces influenced me. In my first phase of collage production, I wanted to juxtapose subject matter from the past in contemporary settings. Below are some collages I did last semester. I wanted there to be some sort of optical illusion in the pictures. I was commenting on current issues of contemporary design magazines; they would profile in particular young individuals who decorated their spaces, drawing influence from old design aesthetics. I just thought this was always odd and found the usage of antique furniture pieces to be rather cliché.

Here is my drawing study this week. It is actually in part from a collage I made last week. It consists of a young hipster girl with a boom box in an aristocratic library. I though the contrast was interesting, both in material and subject matter. I felt it also comments on class differences. There is a bit of humor to the image as well, something I always try to incorporate in my artwork.

Sara: Study for the Final

       Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, born in 1571, was a realistic painter who greatly influenced the Baroque art movement. He was well known for his use of chiaroscuro (high contrasts of light and dark in his paintings). He was also known to place his self-portrait in his pieces often.
       This particular painting by Caravaggio was painted around 1600 and is titled "Sacrifice of Isaac". The painting depicts a scene from the bible in which Abraham, about to obey god's command to sacrifice his son Isaac, is interrupted by an angel who offers a ram in place of the young man (who is a portrait of the artist).
        The reason why I chose this piece is funny, but kind of sad, in a way. The year I decided to leave home and transfer to University of the Arts, my mother and I weren't getting along at all. She was going through a tough time and with a mid-life crisis-like move, while simultaneously trying to start her own business, bought a dog that she couldn't afford and barely had the time for. I wanted a dog my entire life and she bought one a month before I moved to Philadelphia. I was definitely replaced by a dog. The dog ended up destroying the carpets and endless amounts of furniture in the house in which she's trying to sell (I never would have peed on the carpets). Anyway, we constantly butt heads over this issue and it really affected our relationship. I think the psychological tension of Caravaggio's painting, which is shown through the dramatic lighting and the gestures of the figures, fits in with the tension of my situation. In my drawing I want to keep the same composition and lighting, but change the identities of the figures and the setting in which the figures exist in. I'm not sure what medium I will use yet, but I'm considering pastel.

Jason Moorer - "Study for the Final"

I decided to choose Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s painting, “ The Lover Crowned,” painted in 1771-72. The painting contains blatant artifice, conveyed through the complex superposition of various elements: The grassy slopes, orange trees, active foliage, and abundant rose bushes. In the painting, there is a sketcher (possibly the artist himself) who is documenting a male and female in a romantic exchange. A beautiful mistress is crowning the young man as a cupid sleeps in the cast shadows of the tall pillars, resting on a rock. The mood of the painting is very sensual and romantic.

Fragonard is known for these types of paintings. Fragonard is a French painter who depicts scenes of frivolity and gallantry, which are complete embodiments of the Rococo spirit. Rococo art emerged in France in the early 18th century. In contrast to the heavier themes and darker tones of the Baroque art period, the Rococo style was characterized by opulence, frivolousness, and lightness. Rococo subjects focused on the carefree aristocratic life and on lighthearted romance and their surroundings include nature and exterior settings.

I hope to translate the Fragonard’s painting into a modern depiction of class and wealth, with its relation to interior space. Excessive indulgence and fanciful frivolousness defines the Rococo movement. In many ways, it foreshadows the Nouveau Riche lifestyle and aesthetics. My daily subject this week was transforming notorious mobster John Gotti into a 17^th century aristocrat. Pertaining to Nouveau Riche culture, in many ways crime families have become this sort of elite aristocracy; the media and cinema has done a good job of glamorizing this lifestyle and making it aspirational. With my drawing, I intent to gain influence from new money culture to create a new image, full of societal commentary.

David Kettner exhibition

You might have received this already, but here's a reminder. If you didn't have a chance to work with David, he was a long-time professor and Department Chair in the Painting Department here, now retired. Below is the invitation for his exhibition in Hamilton Hall opening Wednesday, Feb 29, 5-8.

Mariel II

Working with Impressionist masters helped me to understand that painting and drawing are more alike than I had made them out to be. It's definitely a goal of mine to use more expressive line work and movement within my drawings now that I've come to this realization. 

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These are the drawings I've done within the past two weeks. I see them as practice to loosen up. Most of them are memories from time with my family in Mexico. I felt the need to document this experience so that I could remember the emotions and the atmosphere later on in life. I think I like to do that with a lot of my work. 

For our Renaissance/Contemporary piece, I chose to work with The Arnolfini Wedding by Jan Van Eyck. He painted this piece in 1434 of Giovanni Arnolfini and his wife. Jan Van Eyck was a Flemmish painter during the 15th century who painted with high detail and lucious colour.
This painting is a symbol of wealth in many ways. The dog is painted in order for us to see their fidelity to one another. The fruit suggest to us that Giovanni's wife is fertile and healthy. The decor and attire clearly show us their wealth within the community. However, he also incorporated himself into the composition. Jan Van Eyck's attention to detail makes it extremely difficult for us to see the self-portrait of the artist without a magnifying glass.
I see this as almost a random move on the artist's part. I can't tell if he was just having fun with this or if there is an actual meaning to him asserting his presence. For my contemporary piece regarding The Arnolfini Wedding, I intend to photograph a modern couple in their home with some of their most valued items. To infuse this piece with my work, there will be a mirror behind the couple in which my self-portrait will appear with the camera.