WEEK ONE

            I thought that this week’s guest speaker, Laura Vandenburgh had a great message and point to her presentation on drawing.  Many people think of drawing as a pencil to paper kind of thing but she showed how drawing could be pushed to another level.  Drawing doesn’t have to be this realistic masterpiece but it can be as simple as a doodle on a test paper during class.  Even though all the slides shown were different pieces of art, they were still considered drawings.  I could really relate to what she was presenting because I think there is no definition to what is art.  If the artist considers their piece to be a drawing then that's their point of view and the viewer can either agree or disagree.  That's the great thing about art, it’s so broad that many point of views can be established and create fresh, eye opening, mind questioning pieces.  When you think about it, everything in the world is a piece of art.

            One of my favorite pieces from the slideshow Laura presented was where it was in a gallery and it showed two walls with simple black curved lines covering the entire wall.  I really liked this piece because of its simplicity and how the place of the lines created a sophisticated and expensive vibe.  It made me think, “I could have done that,” and I really love those kinds of art pieces because it proves that anything can be art.

            Another artist we studied this week was Margaret Kilgallen who was a famous for her hand painted masterpieces on big surfaces.  I really enjoyed her work because although she drew people and other physical objects, she made it her own.  When you see her paintings you know it was done by her because it had a certain look and characteristics that were special to her.  I really admire her for that because it’s really hard for an artist to develop his or her own style that can be recognized right off the back.  Another reason why I like this artist is because she is a street artist.  Street art is one of my biggest influences and inspirations because it has a sense of freshness I don’t get from other art.  Viewing her work it has a nostalgic and playful vibe that when I look at it, fond childhood memories come to mind.  Also her technique is very clean and precise which makes it look even more intriguing and eye-catching.  Lastly, I admired the use of color in all her of her pieces.  She chose colors that create this common vibe and if you were able to put all her pieces next to each other, although they may be different they are all similar in a sense.

            One of my favorite pieces from her was the painting she did at UCLA.  I really liked this piece because of how clean it looked and the inspiration behind it.  Viewing the piece gave a nostalgic feel and made me wish that all business signs were hand painted again.  It showed that not all the time is neon signs and high tech stuff is better than simple hand painted ones.  She has this way to make you appreciate the past in your life and use it to better yourself in present day.  That is how I felt while looking at her work.

            Both these artists relate to the reading this week because they were successful in pushing the boundaries of art.  The reading for this week basically gave examples of modern art and how it was established.  Personally I love modern art because it’s more open and accepting to what is art.  Before the modern art movement it was all about technique and realism, which I don't really care for.  When an artist can take something and interpret it visually in their own way is admirable.  I think that it’s ingenious when artist’s like Duchamp take a toilet and turn it into a piece of art.  Who cares if he didn’t physically make the toilet, he was able to view the toilet as a piece of art and share his idea to the public.   This reading also made me realize that if there is a meaning and point of view from the artist in his/her piece then it’s art.  It doesn't have to be a classic Renaissance masterpiece or a Michelangelo sculpture; art is so broad that almost everything in life is art.  Humans are a work of art, technology, food, fashion, math equations, and buildings are all considered art. 

This is a sculpture done by the artist Takashi Murakami.  The reason why I though of him through this week is because his work has a style that is easily recognizable and he takes objects in life and recreates them to make it his own.  Also his work has been shown in classic art exhibitions where his style wouldn't be viewed as art in the past, but now he is one of the most famous artists of our time.  His visions and creativity always are mind blowing to me and I can never stop staring at his work.