Category: Art

Introduction

Construction of identity is one of the main prerequisites of uniqueness and individuality, thus posing a huge number of challenges in the modern processes of globalization occurring within the framework of architecture, design and art. Watson (n.d.) notes the extreme complexities that designers face in the conditions of internationalization and modernization, emphasizing the vulnerability that local design has in such environment.

As soon as the progress moves on and erases the unique characteristics of places, cities and objects, it becomes vitally important to identify the role identity has in design, and the way designers may work on it to restore, recreate or create a new specific identity corresponding to the public needs as well as the whole realm of characteristics the place used to have and should have in future.

While addressing the problem, one has to look at the concept of identity in a deeper and more thorough way so that to identify the dominant characteristics thereof revealing themselves in design, art, and construction. These characteristic features will become the guiding lines for developing effective design techniques for reconstruction and creation of identity in all modern aspects of design, including the product design, interior design, and broader design categories such as architecture, and even local geographical design.

As Vial (2010) notes, the set of identity properties includes attributes making the thing what it is, essence and accident attributes shaping its features and form, otherness (features identified while comparing the object with others), sameness (the stability of features of the object in the course of time), uniqueness and singularity (Vial 2010, 1).

At the same time, one has to focus on the definition of identity as it may be reflected with regard to objects, places, people etc. The definition is rather heterogeneous, and additional attention has to be paid to its full and precise understanding in terms of word and concept origination:

“The word comes from the Latin esse, which means «to be» and has its origin in the thought of the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Essence stands for the fundamental being of something, that is to say the set of attributes that make it what it fundamentally is, which it has by necessity, and without which it loses its identity or would just not exist” (Vial 2010, 1).

Continuing to explore the concept of identity, one should compare the initial meaning with the one from a dictionary – “it is the set of « qualities that make someone or something what they are and different from other».” (Vial 2010, 1).

Thus, as Vial introduces the difference in identity understanding referring to various kinds of notions, the identity of a human being is his/her unique personality, the identity of an object is its style, while the identity of a building is its atmosphere formed by the place where it is situated, the country and the city, the people attending it etc. (Vial 2010, 3-4).

Deriving the opinion about identity formation complexities, one should note that both the psychic and socio-cultural origin of identity add challenges in identity reflection and creation, since the expert opinion of what identity should be often deviates from what people want the place or object to be, and what identity features they want to ascribe to it.

No matter what the discrepancies are, one will hardly dispute the fact that every object, every building and every interior reflects the multifaceted identity of creators and inhabitants; it speaks eloquently of the time-spatial conditions of its creation, reflects the social, cultural, sometimes political or religious, ideological purposes, values and norms of the people designing it, and the consumers of the design.

The patterns of identity, design, myth and ideology relationships reflected in the design outcomes in various scales are the subject of the present work. They will be explored in theory and practice, discussed with the support of examples, and the whole complex framework of these concepts’ interaction will be shown in its wholeness, harmony or paradox.

National Identity Reflected Through Design

Australian Identity Construction Examples

Australia is a unique continent that used to be dependent on the British Crown, but still has always tried to stress the uniqueness of its flora, fauna, construction, and consequently, identity.

The exhibition recently opened in Sydney called Celebrating Australia is a strong proof of identity reflection through design that took place since the beginning of the 20^th century and is continued at the present moment of time. The creators of the exhibition personally outline the major identity symbols commonly used in designs for various purposes:

“Symbols that have come to hold special significance – Uluru (Ayers Rock), the Great Barrier Reef, the shape of the Australian continent, the Southern Cross, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, the kangaroo, surf culture and Indigenous imagery – are powerfully represented in many of the works” (Celebrating Australia: identity by design 2010).

The organizers give an account of the 20^th century’s Australian design and show how the advertisement of Australian uniqueness was depicted by both Indigenous designers and immigrants who rarely consolidated their vision with the one of actual native-born Australians.

As a result, a weird mixture of styles and designs emerged, with the heavy emphasis on Australian highlights. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the most popular and common symbol is still a kangaroo, which can be seen from two advertisements of the 20^th century:

The fact that kangaroo is a distinguishing feature of Australian identity, so it appears in various design forms, is supported by the recent beer bottle design debate initiated by Jacob Cass in the open source in 2008.

The designer had two variants of the Gruen Beer bottle design, so the process of design was described as follows: being an Australian, the first thing he thought about was to include kangaroos on the bottle. However, Cass wanted something more modern, and upon the trip to Uluru he designed a more elegant bottle of the brown color illustrating the color of the mountain that was also a local highlight.

British Identity Elements in Design

The overwhelming influence of the historical course of events could not help being reflected in the British design issues. Traditionally favoring ascetic forms of interior because of the tough weather conditions, the British Empire changed its tastes with the development of international expansion and trade.

Being a powerful colonizer, the country started to thrive and revealed the richness and grandeur through interior designs as well (Interior Design in England, 1600–1800, n.d.). These tendencies for luxury were reflected in the interior design heavily influenced by the Italian Renaissance (Figure 4) and French traditions (Figure 5).

In the second quarter of the 18^th century, with the intense influx of imported goods, British designers started to incorporate foreign elements of style in all elements of décor and interior – from furniture to table forks (Art and Identity in the British North American Colonies, 1700–1776 n.d.). The agile interest to British-style cabinets was evident in the USA, the newly established colonies where the immigrants tried to compensate their nostalgia, causing many British cabinetmakers to immigrate to the USA where the demand for their products was extremely high (Art and Identity in the British North American Colonies, 1700–1776 n.d.).

The Japanese Identity through Design

Since the underlying philosophy of the Japanese nation is harmony with nature and the whole world, the wooden elements in design and interior are mainly prevailing in all rooms and elements of décor. The living example of the revelation of Japanese identity in design is the image of the Japanese kitchen (Figure 6).

It mainly consists of wooden elements, both in furniture and kitchen appliances, and it reflects the Japanese concept of ‘living in the kitchen’ that involves cooking, eating and relaxing in it.

In addition, Japanese cooking involves a great set of techniques such as boiling, broiling, steaming, grilling, and frying, so disregarding the dominant style (traditional or modern) the kitchen design centers on those necessities. Though wooden elements are still popular with Japanese designers, a more contemporary, westernized design is sometimes preferable (Figure 7).

The Role of Myth and Ideology in Design

Design is not only capable of reflecting the identity of creators and subjects of their creation; it can also be used to manipulate the ideological principles in a certain social, political, cultural and even religious context to achieve some specific persuasion goals.

This way the concept of mosque design in Islamic countries, especially Malaysia, was researched by Ismail (2008); the researcher observed the details of mosque interior and design as a way to impose the ideology of national identity and religious faith, Islam, by means of utilizing the strongest element of Islam – the embodiment of faith, governmental power and subduing – mosques.

By means of several examples (figure 8 and 9) Ismail (2008) shows how mosque design elements were used to reinforce the power of Islam and its agents in the country, i.e. governors.

Another issue in attributing the ideological power to design may be seen in the debate over the ideological implications of the nature garden concept in the 20^th century’s Germany. There is much research being held currently, initiated in 1990s due to the gradual movement to real democracy in post-war Germany. One of the authors, Groening (1997) argues that he concept of nature gardens was utilized by the German landscape designers with disregard of the history, art, and civilization of the nature garden development.

From the account Groening (1997) gives to the pre-Nazi history of natural garden design, one can see that the history of landscape design was simply ignored by the 20^th century designers, and the tribute for developing the concept was falsely given to Urs Schwartz. By images of nature gardens drawn or photographed long before the emergence of the natural garden trend in Germany, Groening (1997) shows how rich the history of design was before the 20^th century, and how dramatically disregarded it was (Figures 10 and 11).

The opinion about the nature garden concept used as a systematic scheme of ideas held by a social, political or cultural group and being manipulated for ideological purposes is widely supported in the modern literature (Wolschke-Bulmahn n.d.).

Myths are also a rich area for inspiration for design. Since ancient times, people took ideas for elements of design from their mythological beliefs, stories and idols to pay tribute to the celestial bodies, gods and unexplainable events. The folklore of every nation representing the core of its identity has always found its reflection in design, especially of domestic subjects of usage. The evidence for this fact may be found in the study of Ancient Inner Asia Textiles by Tom Cole (n.d.).

He outlines such recurrent themes in textiles as fertility symbols, life and afterlife symbols, swastika as a very popular mythological symbol, bird imagery as awe to harbingers of good luck etc. Some of the examples of these themes’ embodiment in design may be seen on Figures 12-14.

Product Identity Construction through Design

The creation of product or corporate identity has come to the forefront of the design business nowadays. It has become clear for businessmen as well as consumers that the product has to represent a unique identity according to which consumers will distinguish among them, as well as the product may give the identity to the customer choosing this or that particular product and design. The proper illustration of the role corporate identity may play in promoting a company is shown on Figures 15 and 16.

The first figure is the example of creating the corporate identity for a sports and leisure company “Damian Taylor”. The logo designers created a stylish and elegant signature-like typeface that clearly identifies the high class of services, the uniqueness of the company and its belonging to the high profile industry. In addition, the muted colors in which the whole logo is made adds style and exclusiveness to the identity.

The second example is from a completely other field of business – it is a technical company “Network Centric Technology”, and it deals with complex technical components and systems. The company’s wish was to illustrate the highly technical roles it encompasses, so by means of modern typeface, swirling, and colorful illustration the identity was shown as contemporary and eye-catching, accomplishing the goal of its creators.

The same techniques on identity construction can be pursued with the product design, which may be seen on Figure 18, at the example of two premium beer bottle designs. The first one, Inedit Beer, impresses the consumer with its luxurious package, long, black and elegant bottle, so it is intended for sales in high-class restaurants as a supreme quality, deluxe product. The second bottle, Session Lager Beer, is a perfect example of the weaponized bottle design that catches the attention of true men loving weapons.

Conclusion

As it comes from the present paper, the power of design in constructing, recreating and creating identity is enormous. Since ancient times, identity has been reflected in all forms of human activity, design included.

The construction design forms are capable of revealing the ideological, political and cultural purposes of creators, while the natural design activities may serve as an implication of ideological pressure and ignorance imposed on the artistic thought development. Hence, it is obvious that the skillful designer should identify the key identity features present in the context of the work’s creation, and should implement personal, local and national identity in works of art.

National characteristics have been found out to have profound effect on design as well, so the geographic as well as cultural implications of design should be taken into account in order to preserve uniqueness and local identity in the conditions of globalization. Product and corporate identity are powerful tools for acquiring individuality through design nowadays, so they should also be researched deeply to work out a set of successful techniques of creating and communicating identity to the customers.

Works Cited

“Art and Identity in the British North American Colonies, 1700–1776” The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Web.

“Beautiful Beer: 10 Brilliant Beer Bottle Designs”. Web.

Cass, Jacob, “Creating A Corporate Identity For A Beer Label: Part 1” Just Creative Design, 2008. Web.

“Celebrating Australia: identity by design,” The PowerHouse Museum. Web.

Cole, Tom, “Myth and Design”. Web.

Groening, Gert, “Ideological Aspects of Nature Garden Concepts in Late Twentieth-Century Germany,” 1997. Web.

“Interior Design in England, 1600–1800”. Web.

Ismail, Alice Sabrina, “The Influence of Islamic Political Ideology on the Design of State Mosques in West Malaysia (1957-2003),” 2008. Web.

“Japanese Style Kitchen, from Traditional up to Modern”, Great Interior Design, 2009. Web.

“Portfolio – Brand Identity / Logo Design”. Web.

“The role of the designer in creating identity: Georgia Butina Watson interview”. Web.

Vial, Stephane, “Do we know who we are ? A brief reflection on identity,” Conference at the Art Academy of Latvia, Riga. Web.

Wolschke-Bulmahn, Joachim, “Nature and Ideology: Natural Garden Design in the Twentieth Century,” Dumbarton Oaks. Web.

Introduction

This paper is an exploration of the work of Cy Twombly. It is based on the critical evaluation of his work by different authors like Bataille, Krauss, Mallarme and others. There is much detailed focus on how his work was perceived by many and the reception that it enjoyed.

The work of Twombly has fallen out to be the centerpiece for quite some debate in the theoretical world concerning his nature and the writings posed. On key focus will be the period between 1950 and 1970 where there are two major paintings, that is the Olympia (1957) and the Herodiade (1960), where he articulated scripting as an art that incorporates lassitude instead of violence.

Analysis

His imposing eminence has an atmosphere of myth and uncertainty, for rationales that have to a certain extent concerned with the indistinctness of the artist himself, but further to do with the spectacle of his artwork.

Twombly first came to fame in the anon 1950s. This was when his graffiti-like pencil-work materialized to challenge “Abstract Expressionism”. Yet he subsequently sustained “painterly” notion through a moment in the 1960’s when the descriptions of group culture and also the certainties of abstract geometry gave the impression intended to kill it off.

While associated by generational attachment and acquaintance to Robert Rauschenberg also to Jasper Johns, he at the same time has endured from the verity that different from their work, his work tells slight in replica, and also provides no suitable access into Pop-art. The fundamentals of ironic pragmatism in their respective artwork have been well thought-out to be progressive and accustomed with postmodern responsiveness (Barthes 181) (a).

Twombly’s exclusive combinations of exposed astringency and physical indulgence have gone ahead to prove harder to impound within such orderly generalizations. He has then auxiliary distanced his name from his colleagues by taking on the classical history and realization for epic plot in an epoch when such kinds of models came into view as wholly abandoned.

In accumulation, his vocation has time and again sought after its individual poetics by appealing to the legacy of writing, during a lengthy period in which the term “literary” was viewed as a kind of condemnation. These various commitments, and their creators, have never established a ready position in the books of the evolution of art ever since 1950 (Barthes 91) (b).

The countless books, magazines and catalogues that have been seen to canonize the line of artists ranging from people like the famous Pollock to others like Warhol as the conventional of American art’s pre-eminence have characteristically neglected Twombly more willingly than argue with the ways his enclosure might interrupt that story’s surge. Some artists have been heard saying that Twombly has a problem with his originality and being himself tot an extent that he seems not to fit in the current time but way out of it.

That appraisal cannot suit: no individual has such sovereignty, and obviously, Twombly’s art is exclusively contemporary. Increasing efforts to tie him to the artwork of his occasion have left many; however, with a mysteriously piecemeal structure of interpretations – some which only appears to be pretentious of enough span and concentration to enfold the intricate achievements of the vocation itself.

For over more or less three decades, he has been over and over again “re-discovered” by American reviewers, in a variety of ways. The white-on-grey paintings that he made in the delayed 1960s were hailed to have had an anti sensual, intellectual sparseness that allied them to Minimalism-and-Conceptual art; and the appeal to linguistic representations of criticism paying special attention to the participation of markings, writings, and graphical figurations in his toil.

Then, more significant, American attentiveness of European modern art prolonged: in the 1970s a brighter focal point on the art of one artist, Joseph Beuys vexed with imposing myths and history, but in addition esoterically delicate and tied to a corporal animism commenced a re-orientation that privileged Twombly in a variety of other ways; and the initiation of a new-fangled painterly-expressionism in the 1970s, in artists who were as different as Anselm Kiefer and also some like Francesco Clemente, additionally catalyzed a spanking new evaluation of the importance of Twombly.

Most recently, a weighed down apprehension with sexuality has become visible among modern-day artists whose anti official expressivity and openness in relation to the body has unlocked still an additional opportunity into Twombly’s multifaceted achievement.

There are some frames of indication which were erstwhile used in the past which could give a good impression of what he artist was doing. Some of such frames include abstract and neo expressionism and minimal. Also in the same field we have conceptual artworks and neo data among others.

Taken in succession, nevertheless, all these fundamentals has had a propensity to leave out or in other different terms ignore the rest, and not a bit accounts for the charisma contained by Twombly’s art of all, and further, conflicting ambiance of emotion. casual impetuosity and compulsive systems; the taint urge towards what is the base and also the corresponding adoration for lyrical poetry and also the magnificent heritage of lofty Western culture; in print words, as well as systems, ideographic signs, geometry, and conceptual finger-work with smear all solicit to be implicit in performance.

In that intricacy, this art has demonstrated influential amongst artists, off-putting to loads of critics, and truculently complicated not only for a wide public, but also for stylish set off of post-war art too.

It will more or less certainly carry on to resist ready reception by a wide addressees, as its meticulous impact depends in a so strong manner on the kind of undeviating response to material presence that is opposed to expression and unwelcoming to analysis. In the wide-ranging prose on Twombly, many susceptible writers and finely tuned theoreticians have by now struggled with that complexity, in efforts to take into custody poetically the appealing force of his job, and to also to analyze its remarkable artistic structure.

Twombly’s work in this case bears closer similarity to the Athenian “ostraka”, or in a way to the archaeological collection of disconnected inscriptions, or yet to the philological effort of reinstating textual wreckage, such as the exertion of the Greek humorist dramatist Menander, to a large extent of which lived to tell the tale as papyrus linings found in Egyptian sarcophagi.

In a way, Twombly’s labor points to the reality that work of art and “deconstruction,” as it was supposed to be are all integral to each another. For Twombly this is a question of communications of assemblage more willingly than a surface consequence of sense or visual (even “anti-artistic”) spectacles- hence the complicatedness with indulgence of this effort in terms plainly of what Krauss terms as “graffiti” (Louis 231).

For Krauss, Twombly’s painting can on the other hand be comprehended primarily as a re-coding of Jackson Pollock’s words. To hold up the claim of this subordination (one does speculate how such phrases come to be relevant in particular to Pollock’s floor paintings), Krauss fits into place in textual examination, focusing in the lead of another of Twombly’s conventional references, Mars, the Roman god of combat: “the performative, operational logic of scatology also comes to operate in Twombly’s work upon the clean and proper idea of the whole body [whose?]. And even on the clean and proper idea of the proper name.”

In a poetic twist which takes us from the Duchamp/Pollock partnership, Krauss brings to a close: “The attractiveness of Twombly’s exterior … brings into play the lingo of flowers’ as it as well initiates the depressing game.”

The rationale for the poetic twist may merely be, on the other hand, that subsequent to M / ARS, Krauss had deplete his classical references found in Twombly’s efforts that could hence be bowed to the tune-up of school courtyard obscenity. It may be, in spite of everything that what Twombly made it in lowering, is the serious guard of confident present-day art theorists who are too eager to enroll him to the grounds of one significant archetype or another.

Krauss, time and again a perceptive writer on structural design and cinematography, stumbles deficiently when attempting to deal with “painting,” for the most part because of a profession built in the lead of the ruling out of “Abstract Expressionism” and “painting” as to be from the progressive representation of art intricate as a shift towards the post modern.

That is to articulate, an artwork, which seems to exemplify a “technological advancement,” from Futurism, Cubism, and also Constructivism, to the beginning of digital art as well as virtual art (Krauss 250).

The political fundamentals of Krauss’s job mean that recognizing the technical aspects of Twombly’s “painting” turns out to be a virtually impracticable task, being the root for it to be abridged instead to an excellent form of quality of sound or entropy. In fact, a depressing end point of work of art per se.

This gives the impression to be the reason Krauss and Bois are searching for in their learning of the “formless,” a decisive paradigm that shall at once put forward painting to an up to standard theoretical machinery (Bataille here), and to picture it to a outward appearance of auto critique in opposition to which no prospect claims for work of art, in a positivistic logic, would be probable (Bastian 45).

Far from providing credibility to such a development, Twombly’s work terminally arouses problems to it by way of a subtle incursion of techniques and also to discursivity. These issues which are under the semblance of a discomfited neo classicism usually affects a counter fraud in which the significant “paradigms” of Krauss and Bois get fascinated ahead of some instance, falling casualty to their individual bluff.

Conclusion

Concluding the above discussion, it is worth o note that the work of Twombly remains to be vested on paintering with a textual origin and some technological impact. And while we might profitably outlook Twombly’s unrestrained organization of work in retrospect, there tends to be little or no proceeds to be put on from essaying a very last remark on the connotation of his artwork, or yet that of his ARS (Varnedoe 27).

Works Cited

Barthes, Roland (a). ‘The Wisdom of Art’, in Cy Twombly: Paintings and Drawings1954-1977, Whitney Museum of American Art, 1979. print.

Barthes, Roland (b). ‘Cy Twombly: Works on Paper’ and ‘The Wisdom of Art,’ in

Howard, Richard. The Responsibility of Forms: Critical Essays on Music, Art and Representation. Berkeley: California University Press, 1985. print.

Bastian, Heiner. Cy Twombly: Poems to the Sea. New York: Dia Center for the Arts, 1990. print.

Krauss, Rosalind. The Optical Unconscious. London: MIT Press, 1996. print.

Louis, Armand, Fifty Years of Works on Paper – Cy Twombly. Munich: Pinakothek der Moderne, 2004. print.

Varnedoe, Kirk. Cy Twombly: A Retrospective. New York: MoMA, 1994. print.

Introduction

Digital or new media art has greatly transformed the world or art. Digital art emerged in the 1970s and has gained immense popularity with advancement in digital technology. Prior to the digital art era, modern art was more prevalent. Sometimes, digital art is often grouped as a form of modern art but comparing it with most modern art works, it is evident that there is significant difference.

New medial or digital art therefore refers to a variety artistic works prepared using digital technology (Miller 2008, p. 31). Other phrases such as multimedia and computer art are also used to refer to digital art and all the artistic work the common features are referred to as new media art. Uri Dotan is one of the most successful digital artists.

Based in New York, the artist has many artistic works under his name. Uri Dotan’s works of art are common in many exhibitions not only in New York but also in other parts of the world. With advancement in internet technology, many artists have resorted to online exhibit to display their works of art. In this paper, I will review Uri Dotan digital art online exhibit.

Digital art has wide usage in advertisement and filmmaking. It plays a significant role in the modern world where graphic representation has found wide use in the field of marketing. The wide usage of the internet has also created very significant ground for growth of digital art.

Digital art can be created in various ways. Some of the artistic works are purely computer-generate while other could be generated from other sources. The works of arts could be generated through scanning, vector graphics and other technologies (Christiane 2006, p. 46). The works of art therefore can refer to works of arts created through other means and later transformed using a computer program.

Digital Exhibition

Uri Dotan’s online art exhibit is one of the most fantastic online exhibitions to visit. Unlike conventional art exhibit, online art exhibit is accessed from any place in the world, as long as one has internet connection. Online exhibit is therefore open to large audiences. With many upcoming artists, online exhibition provides an efficient ways for displaying artistic works to the public. Uri Dotan is a skilled artist as demonstrated in his works of art. The common theme in his artistic works is that of influence of technology.

In his works of arts, the artist is able to take his audience many years ahead of their time. Using his skills in digital art, the artists capture his imagination of the future. Digital art is first of all created in the mind of the artist before being projected electronically (Churchill 2007, para. 3). Uri Dotan demonstrates his imagination as he takes us fifty years ahead of our time through his skills by creating artwork that shows influence of technology on society (The Williams Gallery 2008, para. 2).

The extraordinary Uri Dotan’s sculptures and paintings exist in digital world. The artistic works appealing to the eye right from the first pages of the online exhibition.

Digital art criteria

To review an exhibition successfully, one need to use some criteria. Each style of art has some expected criteria. Although the criteria are not explicit, an artist using a particular artistic knows the standard that his or her work or art should meet. Digital art style in one of the challenging styles to analyze.

This is above all due to the dynamic nature of the style where digital artists keep coming up with new things every now and then (Wands 2007, p. 79). Digital art mainly comprise of paintings, sculpture and other work of art that have been transformed using digital technology. For digital art to be considered to be successful, It should be able demonstrate relationship with the work of art from which it was obtained. Uri Dotan is able to demonstrate this as looking at his work one knows that he or she is looking an artistic work.

The second criterion that Uri Dotan is able to demonstrate in his work is that is able to the medium as a tool to communicate his message rather than as an end. Their criterion that Uri Dotan is able to demonstrate in his work is originality. All the artistic works in the exhibit are not derived from other people’s works but they are original. The last important criterion of good work of art demonstrated in Uri Dotan work is life. All his works of art have life in themselves and therefore, they are able to be appealing to eyes.

Digital Virgin

The first artistic work to be encountered is given the name Virgin. The beautiful digital painting is an abstract sculpture. The digital Venus is created in an architectural space giving it an outstanding pose (The Williams Gallery 2008, para. 4). The painting is composed in a vertical rectangle with figure centered. The painting is movable and recognizable; it as if the artist is welcoming his audience to view his remaining works of art.

Digital Dancer

The second artistic work in the online exhibit is referred to as Digital dance. The artwork is comprised of bright strips of metal. The work is poised vertically by use of architectural space (The Williams Gallery 2008, para. 6). Although all these are features of a conventional work, there is no doubt when looking art work that one is looking and a virtual sculpture. Although virtual, the artwork is able draw emotions of creativity associated with world of art rather than technological environment.

Uri Dotan’s proficiency in digital art continues to unfold as one meets his other works. The second phase of his exhibits begins with a figure which is more mural Navado-like. Tree leaves and sticks have also been used to symbolize hair and the hand. A pedestal, in three dimensions, sits in front of the mural. Beneath this figure, a keen observe is able to what looks like human feet.

Uri Danton’s artistic demonstrate his command in digital art. The artist is able to explore various styles in his artistic work. For his fifth piece of work (labeled Hummingbird), Uri Danton has decided to make use of an angle and walls, as opposed to the all too familiar rectangle (The Williams Gallery 2008, para. 7). The image is not completely enclosed but some of its parts come out of the case.

The image seems complicated with shadow falling on the wall. In total, there are eight Uri Dotan’s artistic works in the online exhibit. All the eight digital images are wonderful and they demonstrate Dotan’s proficiency as a digital artist. The artist is able to create spaces and fill them with desired figure.

Conclusion

Digital art is a major revolution in the world of art. Advancement in digital technology has provided artists with a tool not only to create new images but also transform old works of art. Uri Dotan has demonstrated his skills as a digital artist. In the online exhibit, his work comes out as of high quality and skillful.

Reference List

Christiane, P., 2008, Digital art. New York: Thames & Hudson.

Churchill, S., 2007. The Art of Digital Show. Web.

Miller, R., 2008, Digital Art: Painting With Pixels. New York: Twenty-First Century Books.

The Williams Gallery., 2008. Uri Dotan. Web.

Wands, B., 2007, Art of the digital age. New York: Thames & Hudson.

The variety of paintings in the Denver Art Museum is impressive indeed. The division of collections into Textile Art, Asian Art, Pre-Columbian Art, Spanish Colonial etc provides the visitor with an opportunity to choose one exhibition in accordance with personal interests and demands.

The collection that attracts my attention is the European & American Art; my choice is almost obvious because this collection introduces the wonderful world of art, offered by Claude Monet. This French impressionist created numerous paintings using his own style and format.

His Waterloo Bridge, created in 1903, was the result of his trips around the European cities between 1899 and 1903. The peculiar feature of this painting is not the famous bridge itself but light and colors, which evaluate the chosen period of a day. In Waterloo Bridge, Claude Monet did not want to represent the bridge as he saw it but to underline the importance of the air, colors, and nature around that bridge that made the whole picture complete, impressive, and memorable.

It is very difficult to describe Monet’s Waterloo Bridge in a few words because the impressions are really great. Though the title of the painting is Waterloo Bridge, the bridge itself does not consider to be its center. Monet made a wonderful attempt to attract people’s attention not to the building but to the medium that completed the image.

At the first glance, it is possible to see that Monet wanted to impress one moment, one breath, and one movement that depicted a true nature of London. Working smoke stacks, moving barges, a long busy bridge, and constant smog – all this is regarded to be an integral part of London, that very part that catches its visitors’ eye from the very beginning.

The point is that even if this painting were not titled, it would be possible to guess what place and what city were represented on it. On my opinion, the style, chosen by the painter, is closer to the realistic one because it is characterized by the attempts to interpret the world as it is with its style, people, and life. In spite of the fact that Monet’s skill to use color and light in a very unusual way, the realism may be perfectly observed on this painting.

In a thorough analysis of Monet’s Waterloo Bridge, such visual elements like line, color, and light need to be mentioned at first. Monet was one of those impressionists, who tried to take each detail into consideration and use the variety of visual elements in order to impress a person and share personal impressions and mood.

For example, lines help to suggest necessary direction and balance. By their nature, lines may be of different types, and the choice of Monet is justified. He made use of numerous diagonal lines at the top in order to underline that the desirable balance was lost, certain destruction seized the city, and motion could be hardly stopped.

All this is above the ground. People change their minds constantly, hurry up to do as many things as possible, and enjoy the chosen way of life. Their bustle is noticeable in those diagonal lines. However, he also used a considerable number of horizontal lines (where the river is described) proved that calm and stability are also obligatory for people to continue the chosen style of life and not to lose their ways.

The idea that Monet liked to use a limited palette is proved in his Waterloo Bridge. He shows how such colors like cobalt blue, cadmium yellow, and emerald green are perfectly combined in one painting. Though many people may say that the only color that is observed in Waterloo Bridge is green, their answer is wrong.

The pigments of blue and yellow are also noticed, and in spite of the fact that combination of these colors leads to green, it is mistakenly think that green is the only color in Waterloo Bridge. I think that Monet wanted to teach his viewers that the first gaze may be rather deceptive, and only a true connoisseur of art is able to find out how colorful his Waterloo Bridge actually is.

The use of light is one more peculiar feature of the painting under consideration. Monet was one of fewer painters, who were able to depict light by means of painting one and the same motif in absolutely different conditions. In this painting, the creator paid enough attention to depict the light quality in the water. The viewer cannot see the sun itself; however, its reflection and warm may be observed in the water, and its bright light on quite a gloomy background shows how significant brightness may be for London.

Such powerful design principles like balance and unity make up the painting to its full extent. With the help of the principle of unity, Monet demonstrates how different parts of the image may work together as a team.

The work of smoke stacks makes it difficult to see clearly the world; however, working barges and a crowded bridge prove that these stacks are also integral elements of this city and that life cannot be stopped. The balance of this work is mixed; diverse lines and rapid transition of colors serve as strong means to prove that Monet saw London as the city of contrast, where people change their minds and occupations as frequent as possible and cannot prefer one stable position.

Talking about the functions of this concrete piece of art, it is necessary to consider two levels, personal and physical. The physical function of Waterloo Bridge is about the actions and style that are inherent to London’s citizens. Smoke stacks are working and provide people with the necessary warm and energy; cars are moving to transport people; and barges are floating to perform their everyday duties.

The personal function of this work is connected to human emotions and Monet’s intentions. With the help of this function, the painter demonstrated that smog and working technologies did not prevent people of their constant affairs and duties. They should not be dependant on weather and smog, and this is the main lesson, people can learn from this painting.

Claude Monet was one of the most outstanding painters at the beginning of the 1900s. His works and attitude to life make me always be amazed and captured. Looking at his Waterloo Bridge, I cannot help but wonder what made Monet choose such gloomy colors and focus his attention on air and smog rather than on the bridge itself.

Within a couple of minutes, I come to the conclusion that this work is really magnificent and realistic because Monet offered to observe London not as a city of huge and historical buildings but as a city of contrasts and colors. Different lines and objects represent the variety that is inherent to the city.

When people focus on one concrete subject, they have to evaluate its worth in respect to all other objects around. The true essence of the bridge is not about its construction and material; Waterloo Bridge’s essence lies deeper, when such points like air, water, sun’s reflections in the water, smog, and constant traffic are considered simultaneously.

Introduction

Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was a French pianist and composer whose exceptional work in technical composition made him one of the most prominent composers of his era.

He is considered to be the founder of modern sensualist compositions, creating a new trend in musical performance by use of contemporary scales and a diversity of tonal arrangements, greatly influenced by Russian compositions and Eastern cultures. He had the unique ability of collectively assimilating different tonal variations simultaneously to form a richer unified reminiscent resonance which earned him the title of a musical impressionist.

His mastery in solo piano saw the addition of Preludes to his repertoire, which until his contribution were not regarded as important in musical composition. Debussy composed the entire collection of preludes over a period of three years (1910-1913) and divided them into two separate books, each book containing twelve preludes.

Preludes

The 24 Preludes composed by Debussy in book 1 and 2 are short musical pieces that are meant to put across a specific atmosphere or feeling which is pointed out by the title of each piece.

The titles are placed at the foot of each peace to allow the pianist and the audience to inwardly interpret the music before they get to understand the composer’s perspective (Harpole 1986). The Preludes are considered to be among the epitome of the composer’s keyboard mastery, but even Debussy himself admitted that not all the preludes received the commendation he had hoped for.

West wind

What the West wind saw (Ce qu’a vu le vent d’ouest) is the seventh of the twelve preludes in Claude Debussy’s first book of preludes. The piece begins with tension preceded by a metrical build up of the bass which elevates the tension present in the music (Roberts 1996).

The build up of the bass is gradual and then rapidly explodes with two tonal variations the high pitched tones in the registry giving out a howling sound while a growling sound emanates from the lower pitch tones to give a cumulative effect of rage and destruction (Harpole 1986).

Like most of the other preludes, Debussy withholds from the latent use of imagery and instead bases What the West wind saw entirely on musical and harmonic texture. He creatively replicates the natural sound of wind to produce the wailing, loud and moving sounds of a powerful wind (Muller, nd).

This three minute prelude is supposed to induce the violent and overwhelming power of an aggressive wind. The piece is also particularly potent in tritones and whole-tone motifs which can be found in all of the aggressive chords and fast comprehensive arpeggios (Roberts 1996). Debussy’s virtuosity is evident in the rapidly alternating tonal variations and the low range tremolos (Weiss 2003).

Book 1 is made up of 12 preludes, What the West wind saw being one of them. Most of the preludes in book one are of a light texture though there are some preludes that come close to What the West wind saw (Park 1967). The first prelude, Danseuses de Delphes (Dancers of Delphi) sharply differs from West Wind in melody and harmony.

The harmonies are of a lighter tone and the melody is more prominent and much closer to the accompanying chords. It also bears percussion accents which are not present in the west wind. However, the technique used is similar to that of west wind in terms of layered texture and modal scales.

Voiles (Veils or sails) uniquely lacks the half-step and bears a prominent B-flat tone through out. The melody is intermittent projecting sonorously whole tone scale. This prelude bears no similarity to west wind both in character and color (Lockspeiser 1978).

Le vent dans la plaine (The Wind in the Plain) suggests the presence of wind and is similar to west wind in content (Harpole 1986). The prelude is however different from west wind in that it suggests a calmer and more bearable wind in form of a breeze.

Whole tone scale only appears in the middle, the rest of the prelude being dominated by pentatonic scale (Weiss 2003). Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir (The sounds and fragrances swirl through the evening air) just like west wind, this piece is rich in harmonic content (Lockspeiser 1978).

The melody is however different from west wind, and this prelude bears two thematic melodies that are layered over and interchanged through out the prelude. Les collines d’Anacapri (The Hills of Anacapri) is similar to west wind in that it is richly embodied with energy. The difference is that the energy present in The Hills of Anacapri is thematic to a party mood whereas the energy of west wind is more of a destructive nature (Park 1967).

Des pas sur la neige (Footsteps in the Snow) precedes west wind in book 1 and is a sharp contrast to the latter prelude. The perelude has a slow sad melody of the minor keys and ends with staccato bass. La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with the Flaxen Hair) follows west wind and the use of simple harmonies make this prelude openly different from west wind.

The melody is pentatonic, a stark contrast to the previous prelude (Roberts 1996). The layered harmony of melody and diatonic chords gives this prelude an impressionist aura. La sérénade interrompue (Interrupted Serenade) unlike the west wind is unique in attempting to imitate a guitarist as he attempts to serenade a maiden (Harpole 1986).

This prelude is full of imagination and unlike west wind bears a legato melody together with a concise cadenza. La cathédrale engloutie (The engulfed cathedral or the sunken cathedral) is distinctively rich with Impressionist technique. Similar to west wind, this prelude uses of modal scales but differs from west wind due to the presence of pentatonic scales, bell-tones, and pedal-points that are used to sustain specific notes or chords.

The prelude La danse de Puck (Dance of Puck) is a light and comical examination of an imaginary world and is Scherzos in nature (Weiss 2003). Unlike west wind, this prelude is presented as a sonata which begins with three F flat keys (Muller, nd). Chromatic scale, thematic rhythms and bitonal melodies are constantly used to magnify the comical effect of the prelude.

Minstrels is the final prelude of the first book and like the previous prelude, it is dotted with humor. A dominant G-major totonic pedals holds this prelude together and acts the constant through out the prelude. Banjo and drum themes make a number of appearances through out the prelude to give it an animated feel (Weiss 2003).

Conclusion

Debussy’s mastery on the solo piano is evident by the uniqueness and richness of all 24 preludes that he composed. Even though his initial work was not widely recognized or appreciated by accomplished solo pianists and composers, Debussy deeply understood that music was not about physical learning rather it was a form of suggestive expression. His attitude led him to produce some of the greatest works in the early 20^th century that set the trend for other pianists and composers.

The prelude What the West wind saw can be said to be one of Debussy’s greatest accomplishments due to the fact that no other composer had ever successfully attempted to imitate the sounds of nature as he did. A captivated audience would easily get a mental picture of a strong wind clashing with sea water as it made its way to the shore. This makes What the West wind saw unique in many ways, both in composition and in content.

There are however other preludes that are similar to west wind in terms of tonal composition and harmonic structure. Preludes such as The Wind in the Plain and The sounds and fragrances swirl through the evening air bear a slight semblance to the west wind but the difference is much greater. A closer examination of Debussy’s book 1 of preludes reveals the overwhelming difference the west wind has from other preludes.

The west wind is inanely violent and loud and the detailed technique requires a pianist’s full attention when playing it. The layered tonal pattern found in the west wind and also in some of the other preludes is what caused Debussy to be referred to as an impressionist. All in all, Debussy’s work is indeed truly unique and light years ahead of other pianists of his generation.

References

Harpole, W. (1986) Debussy and the Javanese Gamelan. 3^rd edition. London: Heinemann.

Lockspeiser, E. (1978) Debussy: His Life and Mind. 1^st edition. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Muller, N. (n.d) Preludes. Piano Society. Web.

Park, R. (1967) The Later Style of Claude Debussy. 1^st edition. Michigan: The University of Michigan.

Roberts, P. (1996) The Piano Music of Claude Debussy. 2^nd edition. Portland: Amadeus Press.

Weiss, C. (2003) Debussy’s preludes book 1 and 2. Ohio: ivory classics. Web.

Introduction

Nowadays, the Canadian art takes one of the most important places in the cultural sphere. Though visual and performing arts are considerably influenced by the European trend and are not financially supported in a proper way (Sakany, 2004), the achievements of Canadian artists remain to be considerable for the world culture and for the Canadian citizens.

Such forms of arts like visual and performing involve a variety of people, who are good at sculptures, drawings, and architecture (visual) or at music, dance, and drama (performing).

When we talk about Canadian visual and performing arts, it is necessary to remember such names as Alex Colville, Karen Kain, Oscar Peterson, Bill Reid, and Diane Dupuy and their contributions. This paper discusses not only the essence of visual and performing arts but also focuses on the activities of popular Canadian artists and their ideas, evaluates the history of the Canadian art, and explains the peculiarity of each art form in detail.

Literature Review

Bobbie Kalman (2009) admits that during several past years, the vast majority of Canadians have already started to underline the importance of maintain Canadian culture separately from the United States of America.

The Canadian Government develops numerous programs in order to support the Canadian arts and to provide Canadian music, arts, literature, and theatre with an opportunity to thrive. For example, the Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program (Canadian Heritage) helps to strengthen the effectiveness of arts and stabilize the state of cultural affairs in the country.

Albert Einstein said that “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration” (Shipton, 2000, p.4). His words are justified by the activities and achievements, which are demonstrated by Oscar Peterson, Diane Dupuy, and Karen Kain. The life and work of such people are concentrated on creation and entertainments; they make successful attempts to inspire everything around “from criticism to admiration, tears to laughter” (Adams Media, 2005, p.711).

In Canada, a great variety of art programs may serve as the best arguments of how Canadian people can work and involve people into the cultural life. Academy of Art University and the Fine Art Department (Peterson’s, 2004) are regarded to be the leading organizations that provide people with a chance to grasp the ideas of Canadian arts and learn the basics, which are important for any artist.

Methodology

To evaluate visual and performing arts in Canada, it is necessary to develop a logical chain of actions, which help to define every single detail from the very beginning. By means of qualitative research, the sphere of art may be investigated.

Primary data like original works and performances turns out to be helpful to evaluate how time and interests influence the development of works. Secondary data is not only the source with different reviews and analysis but also a good chance to learn the history of art development and the explanation of the events that become crucial for the sphere under discussion.

Conclusion

The analysis of visual and performing arts is significant indeed. The Canadian artists have already taken a number of steps, which make them recognizable and curial for culture. However, there are still many challenges and doubtful situations that need to be evaluated and analyzed, and this work is one more attempt to discover why it is necessary to support Canadian visual and performing arts and consider the history of Canadian art in general to achieve success and recognition all over the world.

Reference List

Canadian Arts and Heritage Sustainability Program. (2009, Aug. 11). Canadian Heritage. Web.

Kalman, B. (2009). Canada: The Culture. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company.

Media, Adams. (2005). Adams Resume Almanac. Avon, MA: Adams Media.

Peterson’s, T. (2005). Peterson’s Professional Degree Programs in the Visual & Performing Arts. Lawrenceville, NJ: Peterson’s.

Sakany, L. (2004). Canada: A Primary Source Cultural Guide. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group.

Shipton, R. (2000). Visual and Performing Artists. Alberta, Canada: Weigl Educational Publishers.

Art is something that makes our life more beautiful, fascinating, and pleasant. Captivating paintings, magnificent sculptures, and amazing graphics – this all is about art. We enjoy it, we love it, and we try to find some kind of support in such works. Sculpture is one of the artworks, which are created with the help of some hard material, stones, glass, texts, sounds, lights, or wood separately or together.

One of the brightest representatives of this type of art are Claes Oldenburg and his wife, Coosje van Bruggen. They are known for their Shuttlecock/Blueberry Pies I and II (detail), Spoonbridge and Cherry, Balancing Tools, and Knife Ship (Image 1). The collaboration between Oldenburg and Bruggen has brought so many interesting details in this art and made their works known to millions of people.

Claes Oldenburg was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1929. He attended the courses of Art in Chicago and, in 1956, he moved to New York to create his sculpture and present them to the world. In 1972, he opened the Mouse Museum where he demonstrated his projects and documents.

In 1976, he met Coosje Van Bruggen, an art historian and a wonderful artist, who was known by her colourful sculptures. “Claes Oldenburg has always carried a pocket notebook filled with sketches and ideas. His wife, Coosje van Bruggen, developed the same habit.” (Sarnoff 2002) This couple met in Amsterdam. Bruggen was an assistant curator at the retrospective exhibition of Oldenburg’s work.

In 2009, Coosje van Bruggen died because of metastatic breast cancer at the age of 66. During their collaboration, they created more than 40 public sculptures. Their works were not only for different museums. They created sculptures for numerous parks and urban centres. Each of their creations represents huge objects in comparison to their surroundings. Flashlight, created in 1981 (Image 2) or a magnificent upended sculpture, and Buried Bicycle, created in 1990 (Image 3) and presented in Paris.

At first, many professionals criticized the collaboration between Mr. Oldenburg and Ms. Bruggen. Sometimes, she got refuses for crediting, and Oldenburg had nothing to do but support his wife and proved that their works were worthy of attention. It was a true collaboration.

Oldenburg created drawings and Bruggen chose the colours. They called their works and collaboration “a unity of opposites.” (Oldenburg, et al. 2007) However, with time, their creations became to be in great requisition. Their works may be found in different parts of the whole world: New York, Philadelphia, Nebraska, several cities in France, England, Italy, Japan, Germany, and many other countries.

Of course, sculptures were not the only products of their collaboration. Oldenburg wanted to leave something for the next generation, so, he created annotations to the work. Bruggen suggested the idea of small scale in order to present “books of drawings to be reasonable enough in price for students to acquire.” (Axsom et al. 1997)

Both of these two sculptors had their own opinions concerning their collaboration. Oldenburg said that their work reflect the surroundings and the context through their own imagination. Such approach makes their works both public and personal. (Oldenburg & Bruggen 2006)

In her turn, Bruggen admitted that such collaboration underlined their complete understanding of something impossible, a unity of rather different dynamics, a combination of speed and stillness. This is what they worked with for a long period of time. (Oldenburg & Bruggen 2006)

It is necessary to admit that people cannot get the essence of this or that sculpture. They think that it is one more work that shows the results of someone’s crazy imagination. The sculptures by Oldenburg and Bruggen are famous due to their large scales and unique combinations of colours. Usually, the sculptures are created to help people: carry things, hold water, or tell stories. Let us examine several sculptures created by Oldenburg and Bruggen.

After they created several magnificent works, they were ask to present a sculpture of fountain in Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. It is the place, where one of their best works are now, Spoonbridge and Cherry. The spoon has already appeared in several previous works by Oldenburg.

Now, it was a really huge spoon (in the form of the bridge through a little pond) with a cherry on its top. This cherry was a kind of additional reference to underline the fact that it was a garden with its tasty fruits. Taking into account the climate of Minnesota, in winters, this sculpture glanced with snow, and in summer, it gleams when water flows through the cherry’s surface (Image 4).

“A huge spoon with cherry squirting water has become the unofficial symbol of Minnesota. Any tour of the town must pass Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Spoonbridge and Cherry for photo op with the skyline jutting up in the background.” (Dregni 2001)

Such recognition makes this work one of the loveliest places of this town. People from Minnesota are proud of having such a marvellous creation to share with tourists.

After Mr. Oldenburg and Ms. Bruggen visited northeastern England in order to vivify this region after the economical crisis, they decided to create something inappropriate in honour of Captain Cook (an explorer who was born in that region). They analyzed literature heritage of this country, and came to the conclusion that it should remind about unbelievable adventures of Gulliver and Poe’s story MS. Found in a Bottle.

This is the way of how Bottle of Notes appeared. “Bottle of Notes consists of a leaning, openwork painted steel bottle, an inner layer in blue composed of van Bruggen’s jottings, and an outer in white of extracts from Cooks’ log.” (Cartiere & Willis 2008) This sculpture is about 35 feet. It is tilted like the famous Tower of Pisa. So, the inhabitants of Middlesbrough got a remarkable sight to demonstrate for the visitors and enjoy it day by day.

In general, “the artists invited to contribute to the public spaces have clearly not been exhorted to think small.” (McNeill 1999) Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen were known as perfect collaborators, who complete each other. Oldenburg’s passion to huge scales and Bruggen’s criticism helped to create wonderful works and please the viewer. In each part of the world, their creation has its own history and grounds.

These sculptors did not start creating something without a thorough investigation of the area, the region, and its history. Such deep analysis also helped to make a sculpture closer to people and make it as a part of their lives. Because of these simple but rather considerable reasons, the works of Oldenburg and Bruggen are appreciated by lots of people both inhabitants and tourists.

Reference List

Axsom, R. H., Platzker, D. and Oldenburg, C. 1997, Printed Stuff: Prints, Posters, and Ephemera by Claes Oldenburg: a Catalogue Raisonné 1958-1996. Hudson Hills.

Cartiere, C. and Willis, S. 2008, The Practice of Public Art. Routledge.

Dregni, E. 2001, Minnesota Marvels: Roadside Attractions in the Land of Lakes. U of Minnesota Press, Minnesota.

McNeill, D. 1999, Urban Change and the European Left: Tales from the New Barcelona. Routledge.

Oldenburg, C. and Bruggen, C. 2006, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Web.

Oldenburg, C., Bruggen, C., Gianelli, I., Rivoli, C., and Beccaria, M. 2007, Claes Oldenburg Coosje van Bruggen: Sculpture by the Way. Skira.

Sarnoff, I. 2002, Intimate Creativity: Partners in Love and Art. Univ of Wisconsin Press, Wisconsin.

Chronology of Large-Scale Projects by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. Web.

About the works of Mr. Oldenburg and Ms. Bruggen. Web.

Exhibitions of Oldenburg and Bruggen

Images

Image 1

Image 2

Image 3

Image 4

The world of photographing is unique indeed: it is quite possible to read the whole story with the help of one or several photos, fell in love, be disappointed, or just be happy. For someone, it is very easy to take a camera and start making photos, and present really wonderful pictures.

However, it is not enough to be born to be a photographer; it is very significant to develop photographing skills, get certain knowledge, and improve awareness day by day. Such great photographers like Jeffery and Julia Woods have already amazed lots of people by their unbelievable works and talent.

Their abilities to find something unusual in rather simple things cannot leave indifferent viewers: a smile of a girl, a wave of an old man, or a young man’s wink. Their story of love, their passion to photography, and their abilities to make happy moment happier and leave them for a long period of time – all this proves once again that these two people are to weddings, like love is to any marriage.

In this paper, the works, skills, and achievements of Jeffrey and Julia Woods will be analyzed; their awards and contribution to the world of photography is really magnificent, because they do not want to create some kind of fantasy, but prefer to concentrate on the images, which play important role to their clients.

Lots of people still believe that family business may easily destroy good and loving marriages: financial difficulties, unpredictable costs, desire to get higher position, etc. Of course, all these points may be crucial for some people and for some families, however, the Woods, Jeff and Julia, and their works prove that there are always some exceptions. These two great photographers create own business and develop it to such extent that there is not married couple, who, at least, has not heard about Jeff and Julia Woods.

They have a really glamorous studio, they like to travel in order to satisfy their clients and present the best photos of their weddings, they enjoy sponsorship of lots of people, and they are respected by many people from different spheres of life. “Jeffrey and Julia Woods operate a successful wedding and portrait studio that specializes in highly personalized images that reflect the tastes and experiences that make each client unique” (Perkins, 56).

This is why their photos always interesting, beautiful, and full of real emotions. This famous studio can be found in Washington Illinois. However, their first works appeared at more modest place: they start this business as many other couples at their own home. With time, they earned enough money to change the location of their studio, buy all the necessary and modern technologies, and start promoting their services to a wide range of people.

Their marriage lasts for about 18 years, this is why they know much about relations in families, understand the importance of properly planned weddings, attention to each detail on ceremonies, which open doors to absolutely new life, and have enough words to tell in order to encourage other people to take this serious step. Such a slight overview of Jeff and Julia’ personal life provides us with an opportunity to get a clear understanding why their works are in such great demand ring the bells with couples.

Now, let us talk more deeply about the works, which Jeff and Julia offer to their clients. “Photographing your wedding is allowing us to be a part of the most intimate day of your lives. We are committed to pouring our hearts and souls into your love story” (Jeffrey & Julia Woods). In this paper, we take one of the weddings, where Jeff and Julia were hired to engrave people’s emotions, actions, feelings, and love. It was Brian and Jennifer’s wedding; the peculiar feature of this very wedding is close attention to each member of family.

Jeff and Julie admitted that it was a real pleasure to work with their family as they have already got a chance to learn something about their traditions and preferences, because some time ago, they have worked with their relatives. In Appendix # 1, several photos of this wedding are presented. Jeff and Julia make both coloured and black-and-white photos. With the help of the light, it is possible to underline how wonderful and warm the day of this wedding is.

Very often, the photographers focus on the sky and sunlight. The photo of the bride with sun against the background attracts my attention. This very picture presents rather captivating story: a women is happy, she does not close her eyes because of bright light, because her wedding veil protects her. From this very moment, she is under some kind of protection, offered by her future husband. She does not afraid to look forward and she knows that someone very dear is waiting for her in future.

Another photo of a wedding dress deserves attention as well. This dress seems like to be in the air. It is a black-and-white picture; I comprehend such choice of colours in the following way. This dress is the thing, presented by bride and groom’s parents. It is one its way to the bride, but still, has some roots from the past, where parents and grandparents still are. This dress is one of the most important things during the wedding, and Julia and Jeff concentrate certain attention on it.

Of course, the wedding is impossible without a groom, this is why several photos present the groom with his happiness and confidence, his power and care, his calmness and solidity. On the photo under consideration, there is no attention to the past or present, because right now, his emotions and feelings play the most significant role. He is ready to take the chosen woman and make her his wife. He does not afraid, and he is happy.

There are no extra details on this photo; the Woods choose neutral light to attract the viewer’s attention on a person only. To my mind, this photo is really great. The last photo from the wedding under consideration is a kind of reunion of two loving people, who have not seen for some period of time, and now they are happy to be close to each other.

On the background, there is a bright sunlight. It may present a kind of God’s consent on this union. Their wedding is blessed by God; they have the roof to be protected against nature whims; their movements are directed to each other, and their smile serve as the best proof of their desire to be together till the end of their lives. And, as it should be – they are happy and confident in their actions and thoughts.

To my mind, it is not that easy to represent such story of life by means of photos. However, I really do not know all those people of pictures and my words are only the imagination, based on Jeff and Julia’s work. This team presents really great pictures. Their work amazes many people; this is why the recognition of their works is obvious.

In 2002 and 2003, Jeff and Julia Wood got the award WPPI’s Best Wedding Album of the Year. However, it is not the only one award they may be proud of. “Two Fuji Masterpieces awards, and a Kodak Gallery Award” (Hurter, 119) can also prove that their works deserve attention, analysis, and admiration.

These two professionals realize how it is important to observe all technological innovations and present to their clients only modern works and services. For example, Julia and Jeff always adore films to present their photos; however, nowadays, many people use such services like Facebook or YouTube, this is why digital preference takes leading positions.

One of the major purposes of the Woods is to provide the best services for their clients, meet all the clients’ preferences, and feel some kind of contact to comprehend what way of photographing should be chosen. The photographers admit that it turns out to be crucially important to feel at least some part of clients’ emotions in order to represent them on photos, but still be true professionals and create worthwhile pictures.

The life is the major subject on the photo. It is not enough just to make a photo of someone or something and present it as high-quality piece of work. Photos are the pieces of this life, and Julia and Jeff realize this truth and use it to astonish their clients and ordinary viewers. Properly chosen light, focus on one figure/event/movement/emotion, and love to clients – all this make Jeff and Julia’s works unique and unbelievably beautiful.

Without any doubts, the works by Jeffrey and Julia Woods are the significant part of the history of photography. So many people want to keep in mind some moments of their life for ever, and these two photographers help people to achieve the desirable purposes. There are lots of unbelievable moments in people’s life, and wedding is one of them. This is why with all respect to clients, weddings, and love, Jeffrey and Julia Woods continue creating more photos, which present a unique story of a happy wedding.

All their photos are connected to each other, this is why they present a story, love, and real life emotions. Julia and Jeff underline that it is their clients’ love that inspires them to create such masterpieces. The Woods’ passion to love, people’s emotions, and good photos attract so many clients. It is not enough to be a doll or a hero on the photo; to demonstrate the significance of the chosen moments turns out to be more important.

Jeff and Julia Woods correspond to all above-mentioned requirements; their works cause so many emotions, and even single people are eager to find out couples to experience those emotions, represented on photos by Julia and Jeff. All their awards and admiration of people have enough reasons, and their works dwell in the memory of each person, who faces these works for at least one time in this life.

Works Cited

Hunter, Bill. Simple Techniques for Portrait Photographers. Buffalo, NY: Amherst Media, Inc., 2008

Perkins, Michelle. Professional Portrait Lighting: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers. Buffalo, NY: Amherst Media, Inc., 2006.

Woods, Julia & Jeff. Love Inspired. 2009. Web.

Appendix #1

Art has a wonderful peculiarity to touch upon the hearts of lots of people. It does not matter whether you are fond of painting or have no ideas of what this or that painting is all about, any piece of art will certainly touch you and help to look at the world in a different way. The only thing needed is time to comprehend the essence of the work.

Some people do not have a great opportunity to create own masterpieces, certain personal or social troubles may cause such an inability. This is why such people have nothing to do but analyze and talk about the works created by the other painters. However, sometimes, people just do feel like creating something their own.

In such cases, analyzes and explanations of the material to other people are one of the best decisions. Almost the same situation happened to Lesley Harding, a wonderful writer and art critique. She has written several wonderful lectures about the works of Albert Tucker. One of her best-known lectures was Visions of the Demimonde: Albert Tucker in Paris written in 2006. This lecture is about one piece of life of such a great Australian painter, Albert Tucker, spent in Paris.

If Paris has an ability to change people’s lives, the life and visions of Tucker have been changed considerably during his travel to Paris. These changes were noticeable both in his works and in his relations with other people. Lesley Harding creates a captivating story that reflects the condition and consequences of Tucker’s presence in Paris.

Lesley Harding is a curator of the Tucker’s Collection and Archive at Heide Museum of Modern Art placed in Melbourne. This person is known for her desire to learn more and more in order to share her knowledge with the others, who do not have an opportunity to study Art and Graphic Design in a proper way. After she gets a proper education in Art, she does not want to stop.

Now, she undertakes a PhD in Art History in the Melbourne University. During some period of time, Lesley Harding was a curator at the Victorian Arts Centre, and before her marriage, she was a curator in Sydney (the National Art School).

Her lectures about the works and life of Albert Tuckers are not difficult to comprehend. Illustrative examples of painter’s works, bright facts from his life, his connections and relations with different people, and his personal attitude to the events – each of these points makes Harding’s lectures captivating and interesting to listen and even to read.

In Harding’s lecture Visions of Demimonde: Albert Tucker in Paris, the object of her story was Albert Tucker, an Australian artist and Expressionist, a refugee from the Australian culture, as Stephen Alomes said. Harding tries to not to start her lecture with a concrete place and time.

She wants to prepare readers and listeners to her story about Tucker’s life and work in Paris. She mentions that, for that period of time, Tucker was a great painter with a proper understanding of Australia’s landscape and the inhabitants. (Harding 2006) In this way, she underlines that the world that was offered to Tucker was a bit different to that one he used to live. Paris, with its freedom to move and feel was a real novelty for the artist.

There are several major points Lesley Harding describes in her work: (1) Tucker’s adventures before Paris, to be more exact, his arrival to London, (2) Tucker’s attitude to lighter elements, which were inherent to Paris painting, (3) Tucker’s works, which were associated with more vivid cacophony of life, and (4) his friendship with Dickson and their return to Paris in 1951. These major points create a strong outline of the lecture presented by Lesley Harding.

This article is not only about the Tucker’s works in Paris. Harding makes an wonderful attempt to compare his previous works and the reasons why he decided to change his own preferences. In Paris, Tucker realized the broader sense of his place in that continuum. Even more, in order to prove her own words, she refers to Tucker’s words about the sense, time, and place.

It seems that the topic of the lecture is indirectly connected to the text. The author names the article Visions of Demimonde: Albert Tucker in Paris. However, in this article, she talks about demimonde’s visions from only one point of view – the Tucker’s one.

Of course, his original understanding of the world and this life, his life experience, and emotions may serve as strong evidences to rely on. However, in this lecture, the reader/listener can evaluate Paris and its style of life by means of Tucker’s impressions only. He created several great works in Paris: Paris Night (1948), Woman and Beast (1951), or Rebirth (1951).

In those works, he used ageing prostitutes and other representatives of nightlife in Paris to underline how those people saw the world. In some works, he concentrated on their eyes, in the other works, he add details to their arms, etc. Each of his works was a unique one, and Lesley Harding uses all her attention and imagination to represent Tucker’s ideas and feelings.

At the end of the lecture, Harding tells about Tucker’s return to Paris. It was late 1951, when Tucker started the creation of caravan in their hotel room. The inhabitants were really impressed, they underlined that Tucker made gold. Dickson and Tucker moved the creation to the banks of the river Seine in Paris. It was one of the most wonderful works that was known as a ticket for Parisians to the rest of Europe, seen by Tucker.

Lesley Harding is a wonderful writer and talented storyteller. Her imagination and devotion to her works and the masterpieces of other painters help to create really fascinating lectures to people with various level of education.

If a person wants to know more about the works by Albert Tucker, the first thing he/she needs to do is to listen carefully to the lectures of Harding. She is one of the best curators of the Tucker’s Collection, she knows a lots about his works’ creation, and also, she is aware of the way of how to present the information clearly. The lecture Visions of the Demimonde: Albert Tucker in Paris is one of her best works.

This lecture has a clear structure with a logical order of details. She does not jump over the facts in order to concentrate on the essence of the story. She presents enough information, concentrating on pre-history, and invites the listeners/reader into the world of Art created by Albert Tucker.

Reference List

Alomes, S 1999, When London Calls: the Expatriation of Australian Creative Artists to Britain. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Harding, L 2006, ‘Visions of the Demimonde: Albert Tucker in Paris’, Art and Australia, vol. 43, no. 3.

The paintings under consideration, Cranes, date back to the Edo Period, the time of humanistic and rational evolution. During this period, a significant shift from religious topics to secular motifs was observed. Elements of nature and classic representation of images were also included into the salient features of this time.

Despite secularism and predominance of mundane elements, the paintings still contain some religious trends, particularly Neo-Confucianism philosophical underpinnings that one of the leading movements in Edo period. In this respect, Cranes are endowed with spiritual atmosphere and natural vitality that are expressed through an ideal combination of flora and fauna. Everything – from texture, fabric, and tone to color, shapes, and lines – reflect the common traits of Edo artistic movement.

Painted in ink on silk and paper, Cranes are represented through extreme delicacy that is achieved by means of the materials used. Cautious lines made by the painter require extreme attention because at least one wrong movement or brush can spoil the entire work.

Refinement of the materials used also contributes to better representation of artistic motives and themes. Judging from this, the artist strives to make use of these materials in order to achieve the effect of weightlessness, lightness, and simplicity. In addition, ink, paper, and silk are considered to be one of the main attributes of painting culture in Japan.

It reflects Japanese cultural and historical heritage. Along with accuracy and delicacy of the image representation, the painting is also closely associated with spontaneity, subjective sensitivity, and grace. Incorporating all these features creates a complete picture of what ink painting is all about.

While talking about the thematic concerns presented in the paintings under analysis, it can be stated that they are fully attached to the natural vision of the world with slight accent on illusion. At a glance, the cranes and surrounding natural elements are depicted in a realistic manner. We can easily compare those with real-to-life objects.

However, realistic vision of the painting will not allow to see the essence and ideas that the author intends to convey. In fact, in order to understand the main motifs and themes of the works, one should understand the artist’s perception of the work and his/her emotional state.

Regarding light, use of colors, and composition, the primary concern here is to capture not the object itself, but its essence, landscape and interaction between the objects depicted on the picture. Beside accurate forms, minimalism of refined lines, the author also strives to render the traditional aesthetics of simplicity combined with intuitive expression. Apparently, this is the main feature of Japanese artistic trend in the seventeenths century.

Particular attention should be paid to color usage that also contributes to the concept of simplicity and delicate expression. Black and white hues, shadows, and tones provide exceptional harmony to the described scenes. Hence, postures are colored in darker colors indicating the thematic center of the paintings; their movements and positions render their grace and beauty that are supplemented by virtuously presented background.

Though being identical in composition centers, the backgrounds distinguish this picture from each other. At the left, the crane looks more superior and proud because all his movements and positions convey this idea. Strength and dignity are also represented through straight lines. In contrast, the crane depicted on the right painting seems to be more gracious and yielding. A slightly raised leg and a half-opened beak render openness, lightness, and grace.

Its metaphorical meaning can be presented through the artistic desire to express his openness to the world. Comparing these two birds, these cranes oppose each other in terms of character, position, and the painters’ expression. In addition, the birds are surrounded by different environments. Hence, left picture depicts some trees in bloom that, eventually, presents trees spring or summer period whereas pictures on the right is presented in autumn motifs

Taking a closer look at the paintings concerned, a few words can be said about the dynamic character of scenes and objects. While studying the main elements, lines, and shapes, it is necessary to resort to artists’ emotional perception of the world described within a picture.

In this respect, these lines, themes, and tender shades can be transformed into powerful energy that can endow the viewers with the main concepts and ideas of Japanese art and philosophy. In addition, the brushwork presented on the canvas also provides the entire work with greater range of expression and feelings. All these peculiarities and techniques are the main attributes of Edo painting whose primary purpose is narrowed to aesthetic and cultural representation of picture.

In conclusion, artistic representation, usage of delicate techniques, and peculiar materials contribute to conveying the artist’s perception of the surrounding world.

Cranes do not only represent the natural world, they also render the artist’s emotional and psychological state. Particular emphasis is placed on brushwork, colors, and techniques that amplify the paintings’ cultural and historical affiliation to Edo period, the era of humanistic movement. Finally, the pictures also reflect spirituality and vitality through the disclosure of natural world motifs.