Reflections

Yin & Yang; Art & Science

In life, it is important to utilize both sides of the brain. One cannot solely rely on the left side (logic) without any input from their right (creativity). In order to lead a successful life, both sides must be used. This is the specific reason why literature (the arts) and the sciences must be taught simultaneously. It is like the Chinese theory on Yin and Yang; one side is not better than the other- they are equally good. They balance each other out creating harmony where there would have been chaos.

I personally am a very right brained person but I cannot rely on just that. I need the left side of my brain in order to balance out my work. Art is a very tricky medium. When you go to a museum and look at a famous painting one likes it because it is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but why? Is it just because of the colors the artist has chosen? The subject? Or is it a multitude of reasons? The answer is all of the above. Science has taught us that different colors complement one another; orange to blue, red to green, and yellow to purple. It has also taught us about proportioning things such as anatomy so that they look real in relation to the objects around them. Finally, math has taught us about geometric shapes and measurements. Many paintings (and other mediums of art) have very meticulous calculations within them along with subtle geometric shapes. For instance, in Ancient Egypt, the Egyptians perfected and came up with the idea for the human body and its proportions; they placed the human inside a grid and had specific proportions for every part of the body. Buddha to the Ancient Islamic people, when put diagonally, would fit inside a boxed grid with each detail of him in a specific place. When I do sculptures I calculate everything out; i take multiple measurements in order to create the best piece which is pleasing to the eye.

All of this goes the other way around too; you cannot do science without also implying the arts. One needs both in order to make their point and to create something sound.

The Universal Language of Art

Why France? Why not? So I don’t speak French but knowing the nations native language is not necessary to appreciate a culture, its history, and everything the nation has to offer to the world. I came on this trip to learn and visit “artistic pilgrimage cites” and to see the works which I studied in school.

Many people say that there is a universal language of love, but art is one in the same. Art has no set dialect as people from different nations, different eras, and different cultures can look at a piece and understand it.

To me as an artist, I have been carrying around my sketchbook and sketching things which inspire and intrigue me. This is one of drawings which has been inspired by the things I’ve seen, the emotions I’ve felt, and the things I’ve eaten.

Farmer’s Markets: Eastern Market, Washington D.C.

Farmers markets are uncommon in the U.S.. Generally speaking there aren’t many. In Massachusetts there is a small one in Rehobeth (on the border of Rhode Island). In Washington D.C. on Capitol Hill, every Saturday and Sunday there is a farmers market held at the historic Eastern Market (Planned out in 1791 by the great French architect and designer Pierre L’Enfant).

My dad grew up in New Hampshire where going to farmers markets on the weekend was what his family did. For him, this market is just an old family tradition. For me, going to the market every weekend is a treat, it is something which is new that i do not do day to day. In France, I perceive that their thought and take on markets is the same as my father. He believes that going to the market and getting fresh fruits and vegetables is important because one is getting farm fresh produce as opposed to frozen produce or “fresh” from the grocery store, and that the money is going directly to the farmers and those who harvest their own crops- that taxes and such are not taken out. He believes in supporting the farmers over supporting the establishment who gives the farmers a small cut for providing them with produce.

Going around on the weekends and seeing these markets reminds me of home and of a simpler time when grocery stores such as Shaws, Stop and Shop, or Safeway were not as plentiful as now. France to me is “in the past”, but in a good way. They are not as concerned with all the trivial things that we Americans are, they are happy with the necessities whereas Americans as “ready-made” consumers always want more than what they need. For the French equality is closer in their grasp than ours.

Estoy Quien Estoy (Resonating)

Comprendes que estoy hablando/escribiendo? Pues, no comprendo cuando personas hablan en Francais. Comprendo que estoy en Rouen, pero fui en la impression que fui aprendieno Francais a un level que fui muy facil pero no hablo francais. No ten classes de francais pero aprendo un poco para día.

Leyiendo lo es problemente muy frustrado, pero me comprendes mi molestadoes. hay tiempos que quiero ir mi casa porque estoy muy frustrado. A me, aprendiendo y comprendiedo es muy importante, y cuando que es no realidad estoy triste. Comprendo que aprendes idiomas muy bien, pero no me.

bueno suerte!

(Hopefully this last post will help you to understand what I've felt the last month. Though it is an amazing experience, one which I wouldn't give up for the world, I did have some annoyances. You talked extensively about "resonating" and how for sometimes people must experience things themselves to understand, for me, this is how I am helping you to understand my experience).

Paris: Over & Out

Versailles and the Musical Gardens

On Tuesday a small group of us went to Versailles. I had never been but I had studied the gardens this past spring semester with Professor Butler.

Versailles architecture is of the Rococo period with the gardens being classified as Picturesque. The interior of the building is very elaborate and glamorous was guilded designs on the walls which curved and swirled in a very romantic way. Picturesque gardens are gardens which are manipulated by man and seem very Rococo in themes and arrangements. Many picturesque gardens include topiaries.

Rococo art took place in the early and mid part of the 18th century. It is primarily based/associated with Austria, Germany, and France, but is still considered an international style as other cultures dabbled in it. The word Rococo comes from the French word for shell (rocaille) due to the shell-like curves which run throughout their art and architecture. More-so, the themes of this style are reminiscent of nature and motifs inspired by nature. In comparison to its predecessor style, Baroque, it is much more light-hearted with flirty themes and lighter hues. Many of the themes run back to Greek, and Roman myths.

Inside Versailles there were many paintings, many of the Rococo period. One of the paintings which I came across in which I studied was Louis XIV (1638-1715), by Hyacinthe Riguad in 1701. This painting is important since it was done so close to his death, and the fact that with Louis XIV’s death in 1715, the aristocratic era ended.

The Pantheon

Freshman year at RWU (2008) I was in a couple of construction management classes in which I ended up studying and writing a paper on the construction and different techniques about the Pantheon. Later Sophomore year (2009) I took an art history course in which I studied the aesthetics and architectural design of the Roman structure.

The Pantheon which we saw was not the one the Romans built but was very similar. However there were a few differences in which I noticed.

The Roman Pantheon (built in 120 CE by emperor Hadrien) was built to be a temple to revere and worship all the gods.

What many architects find fascinating about the structure is that it was structural built to be able to fit a perfect sphere in which the dome would be the top. (The sphere’s diameter measures 144 ft. in comparison to the portico’s height of 59 ft.) On the top of this dome is an opening called an oculous. (The oculous was built so that the gods could look down upon their worshippers). This technique allows light to shine through and rain to wash the floors. (The architect slanted the marble floors so that when it rained, the water would wash the floors clean of any dirt). The Pantheon employed the technique of coffers on the ceiling to make the dome’s weight lighter so it would not collapse.

The Pantheon in which we saw did not honor all the gods, but rather to honor and commemorate the city and humanities great achievements. Furthermore, this Pantheon did not have a dome which could theoretically become a perfect sphere. This dome was much more oval and pill shaped. At the top of this dome, unlike the Roman Pantheon, there was no oculous, instead, it was illuminated by light from windows in the dome.

Paris Hold The Key To Her Heart

“If It’s For Free, It’s For Me”

The first day I was in Paris, as a group we collectively decided to split off and meet back up at the Eiffel Tower for the light show at night. Georges and I went to this quaint Chinese restaurant off the Champs de Elysee. Afterwards we headed over my means of the metro. As we headed over towards the Eiffel Tower we saw a ton of people selling extremely cheap mini replicas of the Eiffel Tower. At one point we noticed them beginning to pack up, looking nervously around as if anticipating something. Suddenly on the corner with which we were standing the police pulled up behind the “vendors”. As soon as they did this the two men selling these souvenirs booked it out of there. In their hurry, one of them dropped a lot of his merchandise. For about a minute a group of us stared at it until one of the police nodded and gestured to us to take it. After that it was a free-for-all. Together, Georges and I made out with two big eiffel towers and six mini keychains. After this incident we began to “stalk” the police trying to see if we could scrounge up anymore free souvenirs for friends. However we had no such luck. We did get to see the “light show” of the Eiffel Tower. It was breathtaking. The architectural skeleton and design of the Tower itself was astonishing. This was the perfect ending to the beginning of my adventures in Paris.

My Random Fun Facts Inspired by The Louvre

Must Annunciation paintings in which you see that are painted during, or around, the Renaissance era will almost always be in the same location. This is because during the Renaissance, at the end of this outside corridor there was a small door, or opening of Churches and orphanages. People would drop off “unwanted” children, or rather, children they could not sufficiently support and love, and let the nuns raise them and find them a home. This symbolism and care of Mary (taking a child that was not necessarily hers; adopting Jesus in a manner of speaking) coincides perfectly with the symbolism and purpose of this area.

Egyptians are attributed with creating many things and being the inspiration and jumping off point of many other civilizations; anatomically proportioned sculptures for the Greeks, Clerestories (an architectural technique used in churches and other structures as a mechanism to illuminated an area) for the Islamic culture, and giving the contrapposto (the structural stance in which weight shifted forward on one foot) to the Greeks. One thing which many people forget that the Egyptians gave us was beer. They were the first civilization to create such. Our proof of this comes from some of the first Sumerian tablets which were discovered. These tablets had drawings on them, much like Egyptian hieroglyphs, which depict the recipe (ingredients ) to make the substance, and how to do such.

The Metro

Most cities, or countries for that matter, have very similar public transportation systems, whether they be above ground or below ground: They all have multiple lines with a couple of transfer points to allow for easier navigating, and the underground metro’s almost always have an odor which has trace amounts of urine. However, the customs which proceed these different systems are very different. In Washington D.C., it is customary to let the person off the metro rail, or bus, before proceeding to enter; people waiting can catch another train to get to their destination but those waiting to get off cannot. Furthermore, once people get on the train, they are urged to more to the center as to not clog the doorway to allow easier entrance and exits from the train. In France, people generally stand right in front of the door being a nuisance to those behind them who are forced to push and shove their way on. The last difference in customs that I’ve noticed is that in Rhode Island, D.C., and Philly’s public transportations do not allow food on their buses, however, in France they have vending machines and even people selling “fresh” (and I use the term loosely) produce. To me all these things seem strange which is normal since I am used to the ways things are back in the States. If the roles were switch however, I’m sure the French would view our public transportation customs as just as strange.

Nerding Out: Art School Style

Part I: Romanticism & Impressionism

Romanticism (adjoined with Neoclassicism) dates from the mid 18th century to the mid 19th century. The themes which run through Romantic works are themes which often contrast the neoclassicism movement. These artists love unpredictable chaos, emotion and spontaneity, irregularity and complexity, have an adoration of nature, love exotic and foreign, and love heros.

Impressionism came directly after Romanticism in the art movements. The manifesto for impressionism is the theory of light- how light changes, or abstracts, objects and things. (Much like the post-impressionist artists who are technically considered impressionist artists but use colors and forms in a different, and sometimes warped way in comparison to the impressionists).

Going through the Impressionism exhibit, I was very shocked to see very little of Paul Cezanne. He was not only a very important French artist, but also a major player in the art world; he was the artist who in a way branched impressionism & post-impressionism to cubism. I was very happy to see works by J.M.W. Turner, a truly great landscape romantic artist.

Part II: Early Christian Art & The Renaissance

During this trip when asked about light illuminating a sculpture, I mentioned a sculpture which is located in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, 1642-1652, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. The infamous statue in this chapel is the Ecstasy of Saint Teresa. This sculpture was apart of the Italian and French Baroque period. The story behind the sculpture is that Saint Teresa had numerous dreams where an angel would come down from the heavens and pierce her heart with an arrow.

Bernini used this story as his inspiration and created a beautiful marble sculpture portraying this. The light which catches the gold illuminates the sculpture making it more realistic and magnificent- as if God were really there. Furthermore, the light casts shadows creating a realistic looking cloud beneath her and a texturized attire.

For the majority of the time the art in which we focused on/saw was religious art- both Early Christian (pre-Renaissance) and Renaissance art. Much of the Early Christian art was created using a gold paint- paint in which gold was melted into the mixture to create the luminosity and richness that is still preserved to this day. Much of the Renaissance art was created using a paint mixture which included egg yolk (the reason for why it was cracking on the canvas or board it was painted on).

Renaissance artists focused very heavily on religious thees was because of whom they were commissioned by. Next to the Medici family the biggest commissioners during the Renaissance period was the church. Therefore, artists would paint whatever was necessary for them to get the job (much like today).

Although I am not a big fan of this type of art (going to a Catholic school for 10 years and not being Catholic probably has something to do with it). However, I do admire and deeply respect both the artist and those who appreciate it.

On exiting the museum I was a bit sad; I didn’t see three of my favorite painters which I would have thought we would have passed: Caravaggio (Medusa, 1598; Crucifixion of St. Peter, 1601), Jacques-Louis David (The Oath of the Horatii, 1784; Death of Marat, 1793; Napoleon Crossing the Saint-Bernard 1800-1801), Mary Cassatt (Woman in a Loge, 1879; Maternal Caress, 1891). All are very famous artists of their time; Caravaggio a Baroque artist, David a Neoclassicist and Romantic painter (depending on who commissioned him), and Mary Cassatt an impressionist painter. However, on a happier note we did see one of my other favorite artists of the past: Théodore Géricault (one- if not his most- famous work, The Raft of the “Medusa” 1818-1819), a Romantic painter.

One day I hope that my work will be shown in an exhibit in which I have many admirers. And hopefully I will be alive to see this some day.

Why Art?

A lot of people ask me why my major is what it is. People are construction management majors since they are almost guaranteed a job after college. Accounting majors generally make a decent salary, but artists salaries are derived solely from commission based on whether or not someone else likes your work. So becoming wealthy as an artist is not impossible, it is just not likely. But I am not driven by money, and I am an art major because it is what I love and what makes me happy.

My goal in life is to do what makes me happy; to have an occupation in which I enjoy going to work rather than dread it each day.

I have switched my major multiple times since I used to be nervous about the security of my future; being financially stable to support myself and a family. I hate being reliant on others and want to know that I can make it on my own. However, I found that I was unhappy with those majors. Sure, I could graduate college with a nice diploma in my hand and find myself in a pretty decent job, but I would hate going to work each day. And for me personally, going to a job each day which I absolutely hated is not worth it, no matter how much my salary was.

I chose visual art as my major since I feel like that is what I was born to do. I have been drawing, and painting since I was very young (and not just stick figures and finger painting). As I got older I explored more mediums, taking pottery classes during the summer, and studio and photography classes during the school year. Every time I tried to “run away” from art, it somehow managed to pull me back in. I have switched my major four times during my freshman year and each time I found myself sitting in class doodling, wishing I was drawing or sculpting instead of listening to my teacher rant about reinforced concrete, or the exponential growth of peanuts.

To me, money makes no difference. It’s like that old saying, “money can’t buy happiness” which in my case is true. Sure one can have all the money in the world, but are they happy? I’ve been told on numerous occasions, do what you love and everything will work out; that if you love what you do, money will find its way to you since your heart and soul is in what you do. With this being said I will now ask my socratic question, are people with money happy with their job because they have money, or do they have money because they are happy in doing what they do?

The Art of France

There is art all around us. France, specifically, has inspired many artists as I am noexception. Being here has made me want to set up an easel and paint, which I find surprising since a.) I don’t like painting and b.) I don’t necessarily like doing landscapes. Perhaps it is because I have never found a landscape which has sparked my interest, but whatever the case I am currently on an artist quest to paint, draw, or photography any and all artistic things I may find.

Many famous artists, such as Paul Cezanne and Claude Monet, have lived and or studied here to further their talents. And with such beauty around them what artist wouldn’t be inspired? Everywhere I go it seems that I stumble upon something which is related to these artists. Yesterday at the beach in Etretat I looked at the cliffs and recognized them from one of Monet’s landscape paintings (and later saw it at his house again).

A few days ago I went to Paris and arrived at the Saint Lazare train station. From the moment I got off the train I knew I had seen it before, but where? Then I remembered one of my art history teacher’s lectures on impressionism. The painting Saint Lazare Train Station, 1891, Claude Monet was the first slide. I said this previously and I’ll say it again since I just can’t get over it: going to these places and seeing them through my own eyes and then seeing them through someone else’s is truly awe-inspiring.

It’s not just seeing going to those specific places depicted in famous paintings, but also seeing the artworks which I have studied, in person. At Claude Monet’s house I saw his painting Impression: Sunrise painted in 1872. This is one of his paintings which I studied last semester in Art History II, and seeing it in person has made me truly appreciate it. It is one thing to learn about something, and a whole other to experience it; they are incomparable.

From the beginning of this trip I have been inspired by many things, buildings, landscapes, and emotions. As an artist this is the greatest one can feel, next to successfully completing a work which they have put their heart and soul into; it is a sense of accomplishment which no one can take away from you.

“A sincere artist is not one who makes a faithful attempt

to put on to canvas what is in front of him, but one

who tries to create something which is, in itself,

a living thing.” -William Dobell

Claude Monet

Yesterday I traveled to Giverny to visit Claude Monet's house and the infamous garden behind it which has inspired numerous artists. Going there as an artist it was, as Georges would say, an artists pilgrimage- which is true.

Seeing art and seeing what has inspired such magnificent works is what is truly amazing. At one moment you are looking through someone else's perspective- observing their world in the colors and emotions which are imbedded into the work- and then the next minute you're looking at the same view, but through your own eyes.

Upon arrival at the gardens (not yet the water lilies) I was astonished to see the beauty of it; to imagine having this luscious garden as your own- right in the back of your house! I now understand why Monet painted as many nature paintings as he did. The sight of this garden was awe-strickening and would make any artist drop to their knees and begin to draw. However, I was in a time crunch and did not have that luxury.

Seeing the water lilies in comparison to seeing all his paintings of them was like looking at two different spectrums. In his paintings, the water was a clear and serene blue tinted green hue with trace amounts of light pastels. In actuality it was green, a bit murky but still managed to catch the rays as Monet had portrayed it. The water lilies themselves had changed color dramatically. In the paintings they were painted as frail and delicate flowers illuminated by light hues such as pink, green, and blue. Looking at them they were still beautiful but did not seem to give off this soft and delicate vibe.

Impressionism is all about capturing a moment in time; about capturing the essence of fleeting light. This is the reason why many impressionist artists, such as Monet, painted numerous paintings of the same thing yet with different colors due to the different times in the day or year. Impressionism has never been one of my favorite artistic periods yet I still admire and adore their use of color to portray the colors which the eyes do not see in a scene.

To me as an artist, this is one of my goals: to give the world a new view on something which no one might never have seen.

“People discuss my art and pretend to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it’s simply necessary to love.” -Claude Monet