NO MEETING 10/22 & Assignment

We will not meet next Monday, 10/22, however, you need to do the following to be prepared for our meeting on 10/29:
1. Listen to the ENTIRE music CD (if you didn't get one, come get one!)
2. Write your speech--I want an electronic copy of your speech available on 10/29.
Let me know if you have any questions and I will see you in two weeks.

ALSO, please remind yourselves that we are selling pizza in the Snack Bar in A-Hall the week of November 4, all of you need to participate.  This will give us funds to buy materials, to work on future fundraisers and to buy t-shirts, etc. Clear your schedules at lunch during that week and plan on being with us selling pizza!

Meeting 10/15

We will be meeting tomorrow (Mon. 10/15) after school; I will be handing out music CDs; please plan to be there! If you absolutely cannot attend, stop by to get your CD!

Proun

 

                    

                                             

El Lissitzky

Proun 

Art

Proun is a series of paintings by El Lissitzky. The medium used for this particular painting is collage, gouache, ink and graphite. The dimensions of this painting are roughly 50×60 cm. It is a relatively medium sized painting. El Lissitzky’s style of painting was suprematism and at the time, suprematism was conducted using very flat, 2D shapes and forms. Lissitzky had a taste for architecture and 3D forms so he decided to expand the boundaries of suprematism which thus led to “Proun”.

Artist

El Lissitzky was a Russian artist, designer, photographer, typographer, polemicist and architect. He was born on November 23rd 1890 and died on December 30^th 1941. His work greatly influenced the Bauhaus and constructivist movements. Lissitzky’s experimentation with production techniques and stylistic devices would later go on to dominate 20^th century graphic design. He designed several exhibition displays and propaganda works for the Soviet Union.  In 1941, he created a Soviet propaganda poster rallying the people to construct more tanks for the fight against Nazi Germany. El Lissitzky style of painting was of course, suprematism.

(I could not find the specific name of this painting anywhere, not sure if it really had one.....)

P.S. I will not be able to attend this week's meeting on 10/8/12. I have an extra Irish language that I really cannot miss.

Blindman's Bluff

Blindman's Bluff by Komar and Melamid

1982-3

Oil on canvas

182.9 x 119.4 cm

1. Artists’ Bio

            a. 1943, Vitaly Komar born

            b. 1945, Alexander Melamid born

            c. 1963, both students/met at Stroganov Institute of Art and Design in Moscow

            d. 1965, Lectured about history of Russian art together; took art in avant-garde exhibitions, expelled from Moscow Union of Artists

            e. 1977, Immigrated to Israel --> Later, New York --> 1988, American citizens

        

2. Subject Matter

            a. Russia’s totalitarian regime through “Nostalgic Socialist Realism,” parodied the art form that acted as propaganda of Stalin's greatness, peasant life, etc.

            b. Visual Analysis – a blindfolded schoolgirl and a military man play the traditional game of Blindman’s Bluff

                        i. Stalin’s portrait hangs on the wall of the empty room – watchful, a guiding figure with a strong presence in the Russian citizen's life

                        ii. billowing curtain – statement on the excess of Baroque paintings

3. Artistic Influences

            a. Legacy – reminder of oppression on citizens

4. Contextual Analysis – A response to Communist propaganda and daily life in Soviet Union, early art history, restrictions, the totalitarian state

The Portrait of Vsevolod Garshin by Ilya Repin (aka most beautiful picture in the world asdlajsdlfal)

Vsevolod Garshin by Ilya Repin
*please really look at and appreciate the colors used, the brush strokes, and the subject matter itself

About the Painting

What? 

• C'est exactement comme je l'ai dit...It's a portrait of Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin who wrote Russian short stories. 
• Medium: Oil on Canvas
• Size: 35" x 27 1/4" (about 3 feet by 2.3 feet, rather large)

Why? 

• I couldn't really find why Repin painted him, but I found something rather close. Read this paragraph, I can't write it any better (it's really engaging :o).

     "The portrait's power stems from its intensity. Ilya Efimovich Repin (1844-1930) painted his friend—and occasional model—Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin, just like he portrayed most of the Russian intelligentsia, including Leo Tolstoy, during the era of the last czar. Garshin sat for his portrait, Vsevolod Mikhailovich Garshin (cover), at age 29 years, yet he appears, depicted for posterity, much older than his chronological age. Garshin, the novelist, playwright, and pacifist supporter of the radical spirit in Russia of the late 1870s and early 1880s, suffered from depression and the terrible legacy of his father's and brother's suicides. Sitting at a desk, surrounded by the books and papers of his vocation and trade, the bearded writer stares out at the audience, and most probably was gazing directly at Repin while the painter worked. Garshin's eyes burn, if not with revolutionary fervor, then perhaps with fever; his overall appearance is that of an intellectual, unconcerned with material goods and wardrobe. Vsevolod Mikhailovich slumps, his shoulders and upper spine rounded in the pose of one who reads and writes for the better part of each day. Four years after Repin immortalized him, Garshin cascaded, purposefully, down some stairs and ended his own life."

About the Artist

Biography?

• Am I allowed to quote websites because I think I just might lol

     "Ilya Repin was a talented Russian painter of the Peredvizhniki School, who was held up by the Soviet government as an artist to be imitated by the new school of Socialist Realists. At the age of 22, Repin began his art career at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, the same time as the “Rebellion of the Fourteen,” when 14 young artists left the school after refusing to paint mythological paintings for their diplomas. These artists would later form the Society of the Peredvizhniki, which Repin joined in 1878. Repin and the free thinking “itinerants,” as they were also called, rebelled against the formal academy, insisting that art should reflect real life. As an art student, his travels took him to Italy, Paris and Impressionist Exhibitions, and although he was exposed to the vivid colors and quick brush strokes of the impressionist style, he remained true to his unique form of realism. 

     Many of the subjects Repin painted were common people, like himself, although he did on many occasions paint the Russian elite, intelligentsia, and Tsar Nicholas II. He also painted many of his contemporary compatriots, including novelist Leo Tolstoy, composer Modest Mussorgsky, scientist Dmitri Mendeleev, and Ukranian painter Taras Schevchenko. A common recurring theme in his paintings was the Russian Revolutionary Movement, and as a result his works are often classified as a “Russian national style.

     In his later life, he lived in a house in Kuokkala, Finland, called the Penates, which he designed and built himself. After the October Revolution of 1917, Finland declared Independence, and Repin was invited to return to the Soviet Union. He refused, saying that he was too old to make the journey, and remained in Finland until his death thirteen years later. In 1940, the Penates house was opened to the public as a museum."

 Politics?

• He was rebellious towards many of the ideas of the time. He tried to stay out of politics and focus on religion, but this is not as evident in his paintings. His paintings reflect a lot of political thoughts and events that occurred throughout his lifetime. 

Style?

A Self Portrait of Ilya Repin mmm dat weave

• He was a realist in a time of just anything but. He typically used oil paint (on canvases) for his paintings and he sculpted as well. 
• He was known for portraying "hugely emotional settings which carried powerful meanings"  where he tried to make people see the importance of the event he was depicting. 

✗ For more information, visit this site. 

I and the Village

I and the Village

What? –It illustrates the give and Take between beings and the vibrant natural world around them. Powerful display of the mutual relationship between humans, animals, and plants.

-Oil on canvas

-63’ 5/8” x 59’ 5/8”

Why? –Marc Chagall painted this to feature memories of his of childhood in the town of Vitebsk, Russia.

 

About the Artist

Bio-   Marc Chagall was born in 1887 to a poor Jewish family in Russia. He was the eldest of nine children. Chagall began to display his artistic talent while studying at a secular Russian school, and despite his father’s disapproval, in 1907 he began studying art with Leon Bakst in St. Petersburg
In 1910, Chagall, moved to Paris for four years. It was during this period that he painted some of his most famous paintings of the Jewish village, and developed the features that became recognizable trademarks of his art. In 1914, before the outbreak of World War I, Chagall held a one-man show in Berlin, exhibiting work dominated by Jewish images. During the war, he resided in Russia, and in 1917, endorsing the revolution, he was appointed Commissar for Fine Arts in Vitebsk and then director of the newly established Free Academy of Art. In 1922, Chagall left Russia, settling in France one year later. He lived there permanently except for the years 1941 - 1948 when, fleeing France during World War II, he resided in the United States. Chagall's horror over the Nazi rise to power is expressed in works depicting Jewish martyrs and refugees.
In addition to images of the Jewish world, Chagall's paintings are inspired by themes from the Bible. His fascination with the Bible culminated in a series of over 100 etchings illustrating the Bible, many of which incorporate elements from folklore and from religious life in Russia.
Israel, which Chagall first visited in 1931 for the opening of the Tel Aviv Art Museum, is likewise endowed with some of Chagall's work, most notably the twelve stained glass windows at Hadassah Hospital and wall decorations at the Knesset.
Chagall received many prizes and much recognition for his work. He was also one of very few artists to exhibit work at the Louvre in their lifetime.

Politics? He preferred to not involve himself in politics.

Style? His style was very poetic and figurative.

Tutu Worn in Le Mort du Cygne

What is it? A tutu for a ballet.

Medium- Ivory silk with subtle flashes of gold sequins on the netted tutu. Decorated with feathers forming a heart- shaped. Blue stone only burst of color. The burst of feathers separates the dancer's small torso to the full tutu.

Size- Short. The outfit kind of looks like an upside down dried shiitake mushroom.

Why created? To emphasized the dancer's long legs in a ballet.

Artist- Leon Bakst (1866- 1924) born in Grodno. Studied at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Art. Had little success as an academic painter. Began his career as an illustrator and a drawing teacher. Continued his studies in Paris in the 1890s. In 1887 he met Alexandre Benois (1870- 1960) a painter who helped his career. Late 1890's Benois, Bakst, and Dlaghilev formed an artistic movement called Mir Iskusstva (World of Art)

Style- Known for his use of vibrant colors and exotic designs.

ART

Research a piece of art and its artist.  Post your findings as a comment to this post.  Do not duplicate what someone else has done!

Your (The) Motherland is Calling!

ART:

What Is it?: A propaganda poster

Medium: Paper

Size: Small enough to be folded up into a pocket but big enough to be plastered on a wall and still be imposing.

Why?: It was created because the artists wife came in one day holding a post announcing World War II.

ARTIST:

Irakli Toidze studied art from his father and graduated from Tbilisi Academy of Arts in 1930. Toidze was awarded the State Prize of the USSR in 1941,1948, 1949, and 1951 and based this poster after his wife receiving the news of World War II. He was personally noted by Joseph Stalin.

Politics: He was personally noted by Stalin and was a member of the Socialist realism movement.

Style: Soclist Realism.

Schedule & Assignments

Hello, Group!
I wanted to update you on scheduling and what you should be working on.
Scheduling:
I will have meetings the 1st and 4th Monday of each month, so we may need to consider alternating between Mondays and another day.  For now, meetings are on Mondays, but please comment back to suggest another day/time.  Thursdays were proposed and several decathletes indicated they could do Thursdays, but let's try to come to a better consensus.

Assignments:
Today at practice, we will be researching the artworks.  If you are unable to attend, please choose a piece of art (view the PowerPoint on my site off www.volcanovistahawks.com), and research it and its artist.  Post your results.

Speech: I would like everyone to have a rough draft of their speech in its entirety (notice I said ROUGH draft, it doesn't need to be perfect!) to our meeting on 10/8.

Let me know if you have further questions and I hope to see you soon!