Pattern and Ornament: FIU-Wolfsonian Museum Visit

My FIRST ever visit to the FIU-Wolfsonian Museum! I had a very nice experience. I enjoy the fact that it was in the middle of South beach. I think it really adds context to what the area carries as far as history.The founder wanted to illustrate with their collection the persuasiveness of art and design within the modernism. There was a mixture of furniture design, printmaking, painting, propaganda and sculpture. The way that the work is set up is in somewhat of a time line. It was nice to enter a different section on the space and have a different set of historical happenings. I found the film reel in the auditorium to be a nice tid-bit of insight. The founder Mitchell Wolfson, Jr spoke about being almost obsessed with the man-made things rather than the nature itself. I am myself rather fascinated with the man-made works as well. It is amazing why someone chose to do something, and as a viewed I am learning to view works within their context rather then just the contemporary view I may have on art. 

Sculpture, II Legionario partente [Departing Legionary], 1939

Biagio Poidimani (Italian, 1910-2001) Chiurazzi Foundry, Rome, maker 

Bronze, marble

This sculpture caught my attention because it captures a really tender moment between the soldier and his son. A moment of farewell. There is a great deal of emotion and detail in their faces, plus it is centered which highlights the figures even more so.

La Chasse (The Hunt) by Jean Dunand, 

1935, lacquer, gold leaf and paint on plaster

This work was my favorite. The limited color pallet and composition was for one very well done, and eye capturing. The way that the artist separated the work into two panels was an interesting choice. It shows the lapse of time and movement. It is crazy for me to think that a person just like me created this. It doesn't seem accessible. The craft and vastness of the work, plus the level of skill is something that they most definitely practiced for years. 

Visit to the PAM: SPOTS, DOTS, PIPS, TILE

My FIRST ever visit to the Perez Art Museum! It was great.

I thoroughly enjoy my experience. It was a beautiful museum and show. The curators did a thoughtful job of bringing together the history and illustrating the connection that Latin and Black people have with the game. It's something that we have always played, but never really game a special showing for. This idea was very unique. The point was to show the community. They really took the viewers on a local journey. 

Kenny Rivero's Juguetes

I will admit that this work didn't really resonate with me at first. This may have a lot to do with the fact that before I could actually look at it my mom stormed off saying "I hate this pile of trash". Before I ran off to the next work I wanted to look at it for a bit longer. The longer I looked the more mysteries I uncovered. It was pretty great actually. I even showed it to my mom and told her to look a little closer. That is when we both felt attached to it. It was a collection of the type environment that we were fond of in the Bahamas. Dominoes is a huge and important game in the islands and black culture. The beer bottles. dominoes, baseball and whatever else was in that pile. It was almost sad, to see the last bit of these moments being framed. This was all that was left. It was nostalgic. 

Pattern and Ornament exercise #1

This was fun!

Creative Impulse: Response to "The White Bird" and "The outsider art fair"

When reading “The white bird” by John Berger I want to start by saying that although it was extremely wordy, I really enjoyed the flow. The way he ordered his sentences it really pulls you in because you want to keep asking questions, hoping he will answer them. When he went further on to explain what art is and what beauty is I really was mind boggled. He put it into such a way that makes complete sense. He describes that although the white bird and a Van Gogh self-portrait are nothing alike in technique, they are alike it what connects people to art. The feeling of seeing this bird makes you feel less lonely in a sense. It makes us feel as if someone is there because of the likeness. We find similarities with the art and ourselves, which make the similarities beautiful. It connects us with the work.

I find this concept to be very interesting because it is something I am fascinated with. I am a figurative artist and I resonate with nature and natural forms. I go out into nature in order to clear my mind and find inspiration. Artist are encouraged to look at other art in order to gain inspiration and create new ideas. The reason why talking about aesthetic may be getting into a heavy discussion such as what is good and evil is because art draws directly from our humanistic qualities. Overall great approach to this concept. I learned a lot.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When reading “Jerry Saltz on the Outsider Art Fair — and Why There’s No Such Thing As ‘Outsider’ Art. There is a lot to see and a lot to say about things that are happening in this world. We are so stuck in our traditional ways, which I find to be scary especially as a new artist. Outsider art fair is something that should just be an event, it is something that should be normally incorporated in the art seeing world. What is someone has something very important to say based off of their experiences but we shun it because they are a women, they are self-taught, they are amateur?

I enjoy that towards the end he said “Change—or wither with your prejudices and die a slow death.” He says it plainly. We are at a time in my generation where things are being said for what they are. People are speaking up for what they believe and what they are about. It is crazy, I never thought that the art circle that I am involved in was so tight that they have trouble being accepting other people. I understand the need to compete, but I will fight for my art and what I believe if need be. Our society is taking away outsider art because it is a terrible way to isolate great minds and artists. I am very happy that someone as important as Jerry Saltz is speaking up, calling out and putting the art museums in their place. 

Pattern and Ornament: In my every day life!

Topic #2- Ornament Reading Response

      Ornament is an art form. Many people define it as a way of decorating something, which yes that is an aspect of it. Ornament is not defined as whatever object it may be on. It is another complex system on its own that lends to other art objects and works. There is an extensive development process as well as acceptable uses for specific designs. You can’t just slap any ornament on something and expect it to be a successful use of décor. There is logic, pattern, rhythm, and mathematics that are involved. As a designer of such things, planning is highly important. It is communication with symbols alone. The way that the work becomes authentic is when it is not the overused form of symbolism. Within art Nouveau works for example, there are beautiful uses or ornament and pattern that give the viewer a sense of tone within the work. The way that shapes look translate differently depending on what they are. Whether they are rounded or more angular to say the least.

     Within this article, Ivins’ spoke about the relationship and differences between designers and crafts persons. Both are great in their own way. But one is even more skilled because they are the backbone/ basis of the craft. Craftsman can produce the work. But not all craftsman have the natural eye and education for the design. The Designers are the ones creating the original designs and symbols which puts them at a higher level. Originality needs to be spoken for, because some people are misinformed and believe that ideas are just coming to artist from within themselves, but this is not fully the case. In order to create something original we need to see something else, possibly from a fellow artist. We can then work towards something more authentic and personal. But in some sense the work circulates, so nothing is completely original. Unlike a designer, the crafts person’s job at the bare minimum is to produce a design. They are the ones that can more openly copy a design. They are not claiming that it is their original design. Everyone would call bluff. They are in the world of multiples and mass production. It is all a system and we need both. Technology as evolved and so has the ornamental art world.

-Alicia Betancourt 

Final Creative Impulse

Creative Impulse Pt. 2

Creative Impulse Pt.1