Noh Theater Masks

Noh theater has a very long history in Japan.  The style was first transferred over from China during the 8th century, and it seems to have been the Japanese version of slapstick or archetypal performance in the very beginning.  It wasn’t until the 14th century that it became more operatic in quality, and in 1647 it was demanded that no changes be made to the style.  This means that the performances from 1647 and the performances done today should be very close, if not exactly the same.  Only men perform these plays, and there is a very strong family tradition where the skills are passed down from father to son.

The masks are an integral part of the performance.  Only the main character wears a mask.  There are five different types of masks: men, women, demons, gods, and the elderly.  The masks have a neutral expression (although many of them appear to be very expressive), so that all of the emotional changes must be done through body language.  Once a performer has donned his mask and costume he will sit in front of a mirror until he can become his character.

What I find so interesting about these masks is the variation found within the five different categories.  The masks are very similar but also very unique.  This is especially obvious in this YouTube video that shows at least thirty different masks.  You’ll notice how each of the masks has a different name, but that there are still certain similarities within the groups and names.

Because the masks are generally so simple it’s easy to think that they are equally simple to make, but this is certainly not the case.  Each one is made from a single piece of wood, carved into the shape, gessoed and painted, and then any accoutrements like hair attached.  It amazes me how symmetrical the faces are and how expressive they can be detached from the performer.  It is so hard to create perfect symmetry in a piece of art, so the fact that each of the masks has this symmetry is impressive.  I could never make anything so precise or well done.

Sources:

http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/nohmasks.html

http://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/unesco/noh/en/

El Anatsui

"Versatility," 2006, aluminum and copper wire

Artist El Anatsui, a native of Ghana (specifically the Volta region), is internationally known for his sculptures and installations.  One series of his work that includes his piece “Versatility” focuses on the textile techniques from his home area of Volta.  Kente and Adinkra are two different techniques used to make traditional cloths in Ghana, and his metal “tapestries” utilize and allude to both of these styles.  (Sidenote: the kente style cloth has become an “overriding symbol of african-ness” according to his website).  The interesting thing about this piece  is that the woven metal pieces are wrappers and cans from alcoholic drinks found in Ghana.  Anatsui says that he wishes to reference the meeting of Western culture with African culture, as alcoholic beverages (as they are known today) were not available to Africans until they started to trade with Europeans.  The title of this piece is meant to grasp how the African people have developed, how they have adapted, since the Western Civilization “conquered” Africa.

What I enjoy about this piece is how the materials are used in such a manner that, without seeing the materials first hand, it would be impossible to tell this was not made from some sort of cloth.  The fact that the metal specifically comes from alcoholic beverages is an interesting layer to the meaning of the piece.  What is hard to understand is the size of this piece.  I wasn’t aware, until I googled the artist, that these tapestries are enormous.  I’d love to see this piece in person, because I’m sure the picture doesn’t do it justice.  Here’s an example of a person standing in front of a different piece by El Anatsui.

"Dusasa I," 2007, aluminum and wire

Can you imagine how overwhelming it would be to stand next to one of these tapestries?  It’s also slightly sad that enough alcohol has been consumed to create a piece this large.  That’s a lot of alcohol, especially since the brands El Anatsui said he used are mostly hard liquors.

Sources:

El Anatsui – http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/gawu/artworks.html                         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Anatsui

Kente cloth – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kente_cloth

Cultural Variations in the Depiction of Women

The differing images of women in art is fascinating.  One of the factors that creates this difference is the cultural background of the artist.  Each of these artists comes from different cultural background, although some of their heritages overlap slightly.  (How men depict women and how women depict themselves also varied widely, so for the purposes of this exhibit all of the artists are women.)

"Birch Bark Woman" by Lisa Fifield, 22"x30"

Lisa Fifield is a Native American artist.  She is part of the Onelda Tribe of Indians living in Wisconsin.  In this specific piece the strong connection between human and the land, which is important to her culture, is very clear.  Man, or woman in this case, literally becomes part of nature, supporting the world around them while also benefitting from the connection.  There is also a sense of strength and continuity in the symbol of the tree, it shows how this relationship is not a new one but a full grown, well developed connection.

"Birth of a Star" by Mariko Mori, Digitally manipulated photograph, 1995

Mariko Mori is a Japanese born artist who did some of her art studies abroad in London.  Most of her pieces are digitally altered photographs, but she also does installations that border on Performance Art.  Her work is an intriguing mixture of popular culture, Eastern versus Western ideology, and female identity.  Originally a model, her images place versions of herself in settings that illustrate how plastic and unlife-like is each stereotype.  In this image Mori has dressed herself to resemble an Anime character and has surrounded herself with equally manufactured plastic spheres.  The image is highly manufactured, but the title hints towards cosmology and how popular culture relates in the overall arch of time.

"Nirvana" by Mariko Mori, Digitally manipulated photograph, 1996-7

Juxtapose the earlier piece with this much more traditional rendering of her culture.  This shows how religion has impacted her life, and how she sees herself participating with religion.  Careful attention will show that both of the figures are the artist, and the only difference in appearance is the outfit and setting.

"Root of All Eves" by Wengechi Mutu, Mixed media, 2010

The last artist is Kenyan born Wengechi Mutu.  Mutu grew up in Kenya for most of her life, but attended the last years of her schooling in Great Britain and America.  Her pieces are compilations of her native mythology, Westernization, and cultural depictions of black women.  She has an entire series (not this one) where she creates figures with images of traditionally dressed African women and images of black women in porn magazines.  The women in these three pieces  are made of various magazine cutouts, ink, and collages of beads, fur, etc.  The figures are both gorgeous and grotesque, and their reinterpretations of various stories slightly unsettling.  Her piece, Root of All Eves, is her variation on the Biblical figure Eve and the association of women with evil.  Her version also poses the question of who exactly is the evil figure in the relationship, Eve or the child that she is begetting.  Her other piece, Humming, has an interesting contrast between animal and woman.  The figure is the first thing that attracts the eye, leading the viewer to mistakenly believe, for a second, that she is the humming bird mentioned.  A closer look, however, shows that bird is actually over on the left of the painting.  Mutu uses animal print to suggest a connection between fashion (the civilized world) and animalism (the uncivilized world) and how society wants women to be both.  Her last piece, Oh, Madonna!, plays again with the rigid roles placed on women.  There are still animal references with the feather boa, but the most important part of this piece is the woman’s pose.  We have a piece named after the Virgin Mary but in the pose of a centerfold.  This is the traditional contradiction in the depiction of women.  Either a woman is the Virgin or she’s the Whore, but rarely is she both.  Mutu is challenging this rigid stereotyping with her art, and, personally, I think she’s doing an amazing job.

"Humming" by Wengechi Mutu, Mixed media collage, 2010

"Oh, Madonna!" by Wengechi Mutu, Mixed media collage, 2010

Sources:

Fifield:  http://www.arcticravengallery.com/lisafifield/lisa_fifield.html

Mori:  http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/FEATURES/itoi/itoi11-20-01.asp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariko_Mori

Mutu:  http://www.gladstonegallery.com/mutu.asp?id=2119

When the Saints Go Marching In

I absolutely love Louis Armstrong, so for this assignment I decided to analyze his version of When the Saints Go Marching In (This particular version was most likely performed either in 1949 and not the 1930s like I had originally stated on the post.  Sorry!).  I chose this specific song  because it was not originally a jazz piece (plus it’s a gorgeous song).  It was originally, and still is, a gospel hymn that adapted over the years to a folk music style.  Here is an example of how it might be sung without the influence of folk music when it was first written.  This version is being performed by the Rutgers University Chorus some time probably in the past twenty or thirty years.

The most common folk music interpretation was a combination of the original hymn and jazz.  One of the first interpretations of the song was into the New Orleans style of Jazz, which was also called “Dixieland” as a term that encompassed both white and black musicians.  More often than not this song was performed during funeral marches, which are generally accompanied by bands down in New Orleans.  The group performing this version, in 1896, are the Dukes of Dixieland and they’re actually white performers.  However, you’ll notice how they’ve incorporated many of the jazz styles formed by African American musicians of their time.

Louis Armstrong’s version would appear years after this song was performed.  His is one of the most popular known versions.  Within the song you can hear many of the jazz components.  For example many of the notes are “bent”.  There is also the call and response between Armstrong and the unidentified women singer, as well as between the individual instruments.

This song continues to be extremely popular.  It was performed by Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, and many others.  This last video is a 2006 performance by Bruce Springsteen and the Sessions Band singing When the Saints Go Marching In.  Enjoy.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_the_Saints_Go_Marching_In

A Vote for the Impressionists

I’ve enjoyed specific aspects of all the art styles that we have looked at so far, but Impressionism is still one of my all time favorite art movements.  There’s an energy within the strokes and the bold use of colors that I find so much more intriguing than say the Romantic era and even the Renaissance.  These artists were attempting something very, very radical and their pieces are quite shocking compared to the other art movements.  This is not to say that I don’t enjoy the artist and their art before this point, but when creating my own art I’m not inclined to try and emulate the earlier styles the way that I am the Impressionists.  This is mostly because I’m drawn to the Impressionist choice in subject matter, how they emphasize the ordinary life, the fleeting moment.

"Woman in the Bath" by Edgar Degas, Paris, 1886

Of the Impressionist artists I favor Edgar Degas and his pastel and oil works.  I was a little confused because he was actually included in the Realist painters but then also listed with all of the Impressionist artists as well.  In my mind, however, his work is very much Impressionistic in its subject and his thick strokes.  The contrast between the smooth and the heavily textured areas draws the eye around the painting.  I also love how he focuses on the human figure but breaks away from all of the Renaissance worry about anatomical perfection.  Instead it is the movement of the figure, the human gestures that matters most in his pieces.

"The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli, Florence, 1485

Comparing Degas piece Woman in the Bath with Botticelli’s painting The Birth of Venus shows how drastically Degas has shifted the subject of his painting.  Botticelli is a Mannerist painter, which means that he chose to break away from the anatomically correct human form.  Venus is the goddess of love and she is meant to embody the perfection of the female form, although the form used by Botticelli is not exactly a natural one.  However, Degas’ woman is equally beautiful, and more importantly an ordinary woman with an ordinary body.  The difference between the two paintings shows how the ideal of beauty and where it is stationed in relation to man has shifted.  In some ways it’s too easy to elevate a goddess in the manner that Botticelli is choosing.  Degas has a much harder task in showing his viewers that the ordinary is just as beautiful as the extraordinary.  And I believe that he succeeds.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Degas

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/degas/html/index1.html

http://www.botticellibirthofvenus.com/

The Rococo Style

Jean-Honoré Fragonard was one of France’s leading Rococo style painters.  He was a very talented painter, but devoted his pieces towards genre painting, and more specifically towards the erotic style appreciated in King Louis XV’s court.  Earlier artists like Rubens with their energetic brushstrokes and vibrant colors heavily influenced Fragonard’s style.  Fragonard was not one of the painters who opened up art for the masses.  There is a possibility that some higher up merchants with lots of money commissioned some work by him, but this was never specifically mentioned.  The Rococo style was so intertwined with the French aristocracy that once the French Revolution began (and all of his patrons were killed) Fragonard slowly drifted away into obscurity.  Fragonard was actually one of the artists who created commissioned works that were then rejected by said patron who then went on to purchase a Neoclassical piece.  He did attempt to switch his style over to the new Neoclassical style, but with no success.

"The Swing"

One of his most famous Rococo style works is The Swing done in 1767.  This painting depicts a young woman, on a swing, being pushed by her husband (who’s barely visible in the bottom right corner.  In the front left corner, however, hides a young courtier who’s getting a chance to look up the young ladies dress.  The young woman, delighting in the attention given to her by her hidden lover, kicks off her shoe towards a statue of Cupid.  Ironically the placement of the three human figures creates a triangle, which emphasizes the corresponding relationships.  The entire painting is charged both sexually and emotionally.  This was very typical of Fragonard’s paintings.

"A Young Girl Reading"

 

Another, drastically different piece by Fragonard is A Young Girl Reading, which was painted in 1776.  The colors and brushstrokes are still very strong and vibrant, but gone is the genre painting style.  There are no erotic undertones to this piece.  In fact it seems to be a very normal portrait.  Interestingly there is another painting underneath this one, that, for some reason, Fragonard decided to destroy.

The contrast between the two pieces is what drew me to this artist.  I love the colors and the style the Fragonard employed.  The Swing is intriguing because of all the hidden figures that cause the tension within the piece to grow.  Conversely I also enjoy how peaceful, serene, and uncomplicated A Young Girl Reading is while maintaining the same style.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Honoré_Fragonard

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/fragonard/

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/frag/hd_frag.htm

Artemisia Gentileschi

Artemisia Gentileschi was probably one of the more famous female artists of her time, especially during her life.  She was trained by her father, Orazio Gentileschi, at a young age, and then trained later by her father’s friend and fellow artist, Agostino Tossi.  It took years for her to be accepted into any sort of Academy of art, however, because women weren’t accepted into such schools.  Due to the Thirty Years Wars Italy no longer had the same amount of power in the art world, although, while in Rome, Artemisia still had many very wealthy patrons like the Medicis.  She managed a fairly good living while in Rome, but had to leave and go to Genoa to escape the debts piled up by her husband.  In Genoa Northern artists like Dutch painter Anthony Van Dyck influenced her.  She and her father also spent time in the court of Charles I of England, where he was the court painter.  One of the largest factors in Artemisia’s life, however, was her rape by her painting mentor, Tossi.  Her father took Tossi to trial, which impacted Artemisia professionally as well as personally.

Judith Slaying Holfernes by Gentileschi

Many of her paintings display an imbalance of power between the genders.  One of her seemingly favorite topics (as she painted this scene numerous times) was the story of Judith beheading Holofernes.  One such example of this is her piece Judith Slaying Holofernes (Uffizi version) (1614-1620).  What makes this piece so powerful is Judith’s expression.  She’s very deliberate, in control, and calm.  She’s also an older woman with large arms and torso.  In other words she’s not delicate woman, although neither is she masculine in any manner.  She’s a very strong woman, and in this painting she has the ultimate power over the only male figure, Holfernes.

Judith Slaying Holfernes by Caravaggio

Compare this piece with Caravaggio’s painting of the same title, and you’ll see a much different depiction of Judith.  In Caravaggio’s piece Judith is much younger and much more delicate looking.  She also is much more timid and reluctant in her actions.  Artemisia’s piece seems to be an expression of her own personal anger towards Tossi, her father for putting her through the trial, and maybe even her husband who has a gambling problem.  It appears that she vented her frustration and lingering sense of violation through painting.

It was this inherent anger that actually drew me to this artist and this painting.  The subject is pretty gruesome, but it’s not often that you see artists from this era depicting women in this manner.  For the most part we have male artists representing women how they see them, instead of what they actually were like.  This is especially evident in the juxtaposition between the two paintings by Caravaggio and Artemisia of the same scene.  Caravaggio’s Judith is much more reluctant, and slightly weaker than Artemisia’s version.  Judith, in my mind, was a very strong willed woman to have done what she did.  Of the two paintings I think Artemisia did Judith much better justice than Caravaggio.

Links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemisia_Gentileschi

http://www.artemisia-gentileschi.com/index.shtml

The Battle Between Carnival and Lent

One of my favorite artists from the Renaissance, specifically the Northern Renaissance, was Pieter Brueghel.  He was one of the more famous Flemish painters of the time.  His style was very different from other painter during his period, mostly because of his subject matter.  Brueghel depicted both narrative scenes and nature scenes, but it’s his narrative scenes, focusing specifically upon peasant life, that are the most distinctive.

One such painting is his piece The Battle Between Carnival and Lent (done in Brussels — although the scene itself is somewhere in Southern Netherlands —  during the year 1559).  This piece is particularly interesting because it’s one of his satire pieces.  Specifically it’s a satire of Protestantism, the Catholic Church, and the Reformation that was occurring during Brueghel’s time.  Carnival is the time right before Lent begins and is generally celebrated with a parade.  The parade is suggested here in the painting, although the figures of Carnival and Lent seem to be moving in two different directions only to clash in the bottom center of the canvas.  Carnival is the butcher riding a barrel on the bottom left, while Lent is the skinny blue robed figure on the bottom right.  There was no literal battle between the two seasons, which is what makes this painting a satire.  Brueghel was commenting on how the Pure Church (or the Protestants) was in conflict with the rest of the Catholic Church.  This painting was also an insult to any of his Protestant viewers because Carnival was one of the trivial religious embellishments that the Protestants wanted to remove.  No good Protestant would celebrate Carnival.

The conflict is also seen in the opposition between the inn (or tavern) on the left and the church on the right.  In front of the inn there are drunken partiers dancing around and being rowdy.  (The American equivalent to Carnival is Mardi Gras, just to give you an idea of what behavior to expect.)  Opposite this are children playing close to the church arches while on the bottom right someone is donating their money to the poor instead of using it to pay of their sins.  Interestingly, smack in the center of the painting is a fish stand that seems to be detached from all of the action.  Jesus is often related with the idea of fish and fishermen, although it’s questionable whether Brueghel actually meant the viewer to have this connotation.  It’s very likely that any viewer well versed in the Bible (which would be most regular church goers) would be aware of this connection.  It could be Brueghel is trying to say that the true religion lies somewhere between the two opposing forces.  There’s also the chance that he simply placed the fish market there because other meat would be taboo after the Carnival festival was over, because then it would be Lent.  There’s no way to know for sure.

Personally the religious conflict, while intriguing, is not my favorite aspect of this piece.  I simply love the way that Brueghel shows what regular life would have been like during this time.  You have the Carnival, but then you also have the children playing some sort of game that uses sticks like hockey.  There’s a woman cooking some sort of food over a fire just to the left of the center, and there are some poor cripples hobbling around above her.  Back in the back there’s even a lady climbing a ladder to paint or clean the side of a building.  There’s just so much going on, so much activity.  The poor people are generally forgotten in the history books that we read, so it’s nice to get a visual taste of the times.

 

My First Attempt

This is my first blog and I don’t quite know what to say.  I’ve just returned to Alaska after spending a semester abroad in Athens, Greece.  I made it home just in time for the weather to warm up and then plummet back down to minus twenty and colder.

The temple in the picture is from Poseidon’s temple at Sounion, just outside of Athens.  The sunrise photo is the Alaska Range from an airplane as I was flying home Christmas morning.