Please add your one-paragraph summary and image (if possible) as a comment to this post. Your paragraphs are due by December 11. Remember to revise, review, and proofread. Include the most important references.
ARTH 303: Methods of Art History
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I chose to add the image of Mickey Mouse in the revolutionary “Steamboat Willie,” released 1928.[1] The iconic work was the first time music and film were synced. Walt Disney is not regarded as a fine artist, but he worked and studied those who are included in the canon of art history. His work continues inspire and evoke emotion in people around the world. His name became a brand, and the company ensures his legacy of fantastic revolutionary animation lives on. However, “it all started with a mouse.”[2] Mickey is a small figure, made up of round lines and geometric figures. He is not elaborately designed. But the mouse changed the world as he danced at the wheel of a steamboat. I will admit he would be an unconventional addition, but I think he would help bring the canon to contemporary standards.
[1] Neal Gabler. Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. (New York: Random House Inc., 2006).
[2] Steven Watts. The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life. (New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1997): 121. This is a famous Walt Disney quote in reference to his success by the creation of Mickey Mouse.
I chose to add Joel-Peter Witkin. His photography is absolutely strange and very different from other photographers. When I think of the canon, I define it as essential parts and what one thinks should or should not be accepted. Witkin’s deals primarily with death, and corpses. (I know its definitely strange). One of his works called Still Life Marseilles, showcases a head on a table surrounded by flowers and fruit. Another one of his works that I came across was a remake of Las Meninas by Velazquez. Witkin did his own take on something that showed royalty and happiness and changed it into something morbid and dark. Looking at his work one can assume that his reference is to Las Meninas, but at the same time he has completely changed its meaning. As I studied Witkin and his work I realized that his work is definitely strange and unconventional, however, his theme would suit contemporary style into the canon, which could always use more modern art.
“Joel-Peter Witkin (American, 1939).” Joel-Peter Witkin Biography – Joel-Peter Witkin on Artnet. Accessed December 9, 2014. http://www.artnet.com/artists/joel-peter-witkin/biography.
“Museum of Contemporary Photography.” Museum of Contemporary Photography. Accessed December 9, 2014. http://www.mocp.org/detail.php?type=related&kv=7876&t=people.
I chose to focus on the artist Aelita Andre. She is a seven year old artist living in Australia. Her work resembles the work of Jackson Pollock. Her abstract expressionism style compares to the style that was popular to the art world. She is not included in the canon because of her age. Her age should not be a factor in the canon. When we look at the canon we see what we call “masterpieces.” But what if I showed you an abstract expressionist work but did not tell you about the artist? You would probably agree that the work shows incredible skill. Aelita Andre uses bright colors and different medium. Some of her works include the addition of violins. She thinks through her work. Her work is shown in the Agora Gallery but people still question her importance. Often referred to as the “Prodigy of Color,” Aelita Andre is part of the canon of art.
“Aelita Andre.” Agora Gallery. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/aelita_andre.aspx.
I chose Lavinia Fantana’s “Self Portrait in the Sudiolo”. Even in this day in age, the canon is still male dominated. I believe that the work should be included for two main reasons. First, Fantana was a contemporary of Artimesia Gentelechi. I believe there is an interesting comparison between this work and Gentelleschi’s “Self Portrait”. In addition, this work presents information about the society in which she lived. Society plays a huge role in art.
I chose Richard Dadd’s “Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke” to add to the canon of art history. Richard Dadd was an artist in Victorian England and was placed in Bethlem Hospital in London due to his mental break in 1843, and he was soon diagnosed as a schizophrenic. The genre of “psychotic art” does not include Dadd in their list of artists due to the fact that he was an artist before his psychotic break. However, his art should be included in the canon of art history because it shows a different perspective, which has become an important idea in today’s art. His painting “The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke”is also a wonderful representation of Victorian painting and culture, and it is one of many paintings that begin a new form of therapy, art therapy.
Image: http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dadd-the-fairy-fellers-master-stroke-t00598
The artist ORLAN and her work “Operation Omnipresent” should be added to the canon of art history. While performance art is still a relatively new art form, that is precisely why her work should be admitted. ORLAN is an artist who explores historical images through portrait and picture making through performance art and through manipulations of her own physical appearance. ORLAN is also the first artist to physically and permanently alter her appearance via plastic surgery in order to create her works. In “Operation Omnipresent” this process is documented and also doubles as a performance piece. It is in effect, an art piece on the rest of ORLAN’s art pieces. (how meta) Considering the radical and pioneering nature of her technique, and her repurposing of art historical images ORLAN should be admitted into the canon of Western Art.
Work: http://www.orlan.eu/wp-content/gallery/operation-omnipresence-1993/09.jpg
and
http://vimeo.com/39960094