Appreciate Art

Blog Update

2011-07-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

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

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

For more info, simply talk to me!

What is Modern Art?

2008-04-27T07:38:00.000-07:00

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

2006-03-29T01:33:00.000-08:00

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?

2006-03-23T23:18:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-20T01:40:00.000-08:00

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?

2006-03-18T02:03:00.000-08:00

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

2006-03-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

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.

Workshop #2 - The Impressionists Who Painted People

2006-03-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

Boating Party Luncheon by Renoir

"Let's Celebrate Life!"

While Renoir was interested in painting people enjoying themselves,

Degas was concerned with capturing the human figure in motion,

on canvas.

This Workshop will introduce you to the different representations of

modern Parisian life that Renoir and Degas captured.

Quote of the Day

2006-03-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

"You know, music, art - these are not just little decorations
to make life prettier. They're very deep necessities
which people cannot live without."
~ Pablo Picasso

Workshop #1 - Monet & Impressionism

2006-03-17T02:36:00.001-08:00

Known as the 'Father of Impressionism',
Monet was fascinated with studying
the constantly changing atmospheric effects
of light and water.
This Workshop will introduce to you
what Impressionism is all about,
through the prolific paintings of Monet.

Painter of Light & Water

2005-09-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

“Clearly it was the changing effects of light,

rather than the haystacks themselves, that fascinated Monet…”

– Australian National Gallery

Without a doubt,

Monet is most famous for his paintings of waterlilies.

But was he only interested in painting waterlilies in those masterpieces?

In order to capture the waterlilies on canvas,

Monet also had to paint the water surface of the pond,

Which he had created in his very own garden at Giverny,

northwest of Paris.

The water surface naturally reflected the sky

and whatever was above and around the pond.

How did he combine these elements together ?

Why did he chose to paint them on such a large scale ?

Let’s take a look behind the scenes in Monet’s studio:

Looking At A Painting

2005-09-21T19:30:00.000-07:00

Have you ever looked at a painting and felt puzzled ?

Take for instance, Monet's Haystacks:

Why would a painter want to paint

such an ordinary, everyday scene like haystacks in a field ?

In fact, even Kandinsky--a young Russian painter who saw Monet's

Haystacks at an exhibition of French Impressionists in Moscow in 1895, was

"irritated at first by the fact that the painting was so imprecise

that he had to look in the catalogue to see what it was supposed to be."

Yet, Monet produced numerous versions of these humble haystacks

over different seasons of the year, and at different times of the day.

What motivated him to paint the same subject again and again ?
To find out more, click on here.

Nurturing Art Appreciation

2005-09-21T07:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog for the Visual Art Literacy Workshop Series

How to Understand Modern Painting:

Art History Made Accessible

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

The aim of this blog is to introduce the Workshops in the Series,

and to complement the topics covered

as well as discussions generated in each Workshop.

The objectives of this Workshop Series is to introduce

the history of Modern Art through the paintings of famous artists,

as well as to develop in participants

the ability to learn how to look at, and think about paintings.

Enjoy!