Blog Update

Please visit my latest Blog ~ Appreciate Museums !

I spent 2009 - 2010 in UK

pursuing an MA in Art History

at the University of Essex.

My dissertation was titled

'Ecstatic Journeys Through Music & Nature:

Tracing the Intersection of German Romantic & Chinese aesthetics'

which traced the imagery found in

Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde

to

the works of a painter, poet-musician & the Chinese literati.

For more info, simply talk to me!

What is Modern Art?

Modern art can be difficult to understand at first glance.

"Why paint every infinitesimal detail?

A fleeting impression will do,"

said the Impressionists.

~

"The world we live in is fragmented,"

said the Cubists.

~

"Every color should be honored,"

said the Fauvists.

~

"Art is all about illusion,"

said the Surrealists.

~

"Art should not just be for the elite,

it should be for everyone,"

said the Pop Artists.

~

Through this series of workshops,

you will discover how Modern art

seeks to challenge traditional art

in a myriad of ways.

Workshop #5 - Fantasy Painters

Self-Portrait by Marc Chagall

We all have dreams.

So did Marc Chagall and Salvador Dali.

Both attempted to paint their fantasies and dreams,

but in very different ways.

This Workshop will introduce to you their key works

and reveal why they still capture our imagination today.

Enigmatic Elements in A Landscape by Dali

Who Creates Meaning? ~ Artist or Viewer?

This question was brought up at the recent Picasso Workshop.

Some artists offer explanations for their artworks.

But how seriously are we to take them?

Roy Lichtenstein once told an interviewer,

"I wouldn't believe anything I tell you."

~

This has been an ongoing debate in the art world,

and admittedly, I do not have all the answers.

However, here are a range of views as food for thought;

you may wish to post your comments for discussion.

~

"A picture is not thought out and settled beforehand.

While it is being done it changes as one's thoughts change.

And when it is finished, it still goes on changing,

according to the state of mind of whoever is looking at it.

A picture lives a life like a living creature,

undergoing the changes imposed on us by our life from day to day.

This is natural enough,

as the picture lives only through the man who is looking at it."

-- Pablo Picasso

from Picasso on Art

~

Here is another controversial view:

"Pictures do not have meanings.

They are given meanings, by people.

Different people give them different meanings at different times.

One cannot merely examine a painting and try to deduce its "meaning,"

for such a meaning does not exist.

Meaning can only ever be the outcome of

a particular set of historical circumstances,

and since these circumstances change,

a painting's meaning cannot remain a fixed constant."

--Paul Taylor, American Art Critic

~

Here is an art historian's perspective:

"Art does not simply reflect history

but also participates in it."

--Marilyn Stokstad

~

Adapted from A Short Guide to Writing About Art

by Sylvan Barnet

Workshop #4 - Picasso

Self Portrait, 1907
What fascinates most people about Picasso?
Not surprisingly, his bold and radical approach to art.
Not satisfied with painting realistic images,
Picasso constantly experimented with new ways of painting
traditional subjects like people and still life objects.

Find out more at this Workshop on

Picasso: How He Changed the World of Art Through Cubism

Why Learn About Art?

If you're wondering why bother learning

how to understand and look at art, read on!

"Looking at art invites, rewards, and encourages a thoughtful outlook,

because works of art demand thoughtful attention

to discover what they have to show and say."

~ David Perkins,

'The Intelligent Eye: Learning to Think by Looking at Art'

For an overview of this blog & Workshop Series, click here.

Workshop #3 - Van Gogh

Considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt,

van Gogh produced some of modern painting's

most influential and famous works,

within just 10 years of his life.

His Sunflowers was auctioned for US$36.2 million in 1987.

Who was van Gogh?

Why did he paint so many self-portraits?

What makes his art unique?

Discover the answers to these questions at the Workshop.