Category: Contemporary Art

Introduction

Philosophy is defined as love of wisdom and has existed for centuries. The main objective is to enable man understand nature and its processes in totality. In the past, religious interpretations dominated philosophy whereas modern philosophy is skeptic on nature. This paper reviews selected modern philosophers and their ideologies.

Martin Luther

A fiery critic of the Papacy doctrines, Martin Luther believed that any good choice made by man has to be founded on Gods principles and not from institutions like Roman Catholic Church, which was based on unfounded doctrines for the sake of self gratification.

He believed the church had deliberately created a wedge between Christians and Clergy on the pretext that Clergies were superior in spiritual realm compared to Christians (Baumer 184). Ministers of Gods word must be role models to Christianity by serving with sole purpose of nourishing Christian souls and not for their selfish ambitions.

There exists no difference between Clergies and Christians because God judges them equally; they all need to repent for them to be redeemed of their sins (Baumer 185). He passionately describes Christian freedom as that having everything to do with Gods grace and not human necessity (Baumer 188). If Christians are to make choices based on their necessity then the will of Satan will prevail because choices are captives to will of God or will of Satan (Baumer 189).

Erasmus

Erasmus strongly believed that the contemporary society faults as a consequence of their disassociation from Gods leadership. He points out that all members of a society irrespective of their cadre and occupation are only interested in self gratification in their undertakings thereby propagating vices (Baumer 152).

Professions took advantage of ignorance in ordinary people by wittingly and cunningly defending their ideologies to life. He warns that one has to be careful to selective ideologies of others and seek Gods intervention to religious teachings. He blames Roman Catholic Church for nurturing untrue doctrines.

Finally he is certain that leadership has to be based on Christian foundations (Baumer 158). His advice on qualities of good leadership includes: being fair to all, educating the youth on true Christian doctrines and good morals by dedicated instructors.

This is true because the society today is a product of the quality of upbringing accorded to the young ones. If the young ones are exposed to virtues early in life then they will exhibit them later in life but if their foundations are based on vices then the same will be replicated later in their lives and to the society.

Leonardo Davinci

He was convinced that painting is superior in respect to other arts. Through painting, a complex intertwined process is initiated in the painters mind with simple ideas which are nurtured to produce products with great quality. Science is full of errors and rigid since it fully depends on manuals for references contrary to painting which occur naturally (Baumer 139).

Paintings thus represents nature in its very finer details unlike science which was both mechanical in thinking and execution. Professions based on open thinking were much better as compared to those which were based on routines. Leonardo DaVinci views painting as a vital delicate process that commences with simple ideas that are nurtured to complex presentation and thus etched to brain more permanently than sciences (Baumer 139).

Golden Theory

The philosopher believes that life is a process composed of activities that are similar and repetitive in nature as depicted by spiral patterns appearing in a floral arrangement (Olsen 12). He conceptualizes human life to that of a flower. Young individuals have limited involvement with other members of a society.

During the youthful stage, an individual has a lot of potential as there is plenty of association with the society. At later stages in life again interaction mimics the pattern taken during the young stage where interactions are limited. There is great importance when people within the society however much they differ in roles, may unite for the sole purpose of executing a worthy course. Their work should be as prudent as the shinning of a flower.

Thomas Biley

A member of Cambridge religious reformers, Biley noticed double speak in the Papal system which advocated for salvation through good deeds, whereas the lives of their clergies depicted otherwise. The Papal church was a centre of falsehood meant for recognition rather than building of Christian lives (Baumer 176).

We are all equal before God irrespective of our status and we all must repent our sins to God for the purposes of sanctification (Baumer 177). Concerning spiritual holiness, he advocates that Christians base their faith on doctrines of God rather than works of man who is skewed in the teachings for own sake (Baumer 177). He summarizes by acknowledging that anything done by human beings without Gods intervention is void (Baumer 178).

Works Cited

Baumer, Franklin Le Van. Main Currents of Western Thought. (4th Ed). New Haven CT: Yale University Press, 1978. Print.Olsen, Scott. The Golden Section: Natures Greatest Secret. New York: Walker, 2006. Print.

Introduction

Art exhibitions are the places, which will be interesting to people of any age and any gender any time. A natural effect of the Museum exhibition will be to lead the public to enquire why it is that objects of museum quality are to be found only in Museums and are not in daily use and readily obtainable. (Coomaraswamy, 13) Without any doubts, each exhibition presents something new and extraordinary to the lives of millions of people.

One of such exhibitions, which impressed me a lot, is Projects 89 by Klara Liden. This exhibition was opened February 25, 2009, and will be closed June 8, 2009. In spite of the fact that it is not much time to share her creation with lots of people, this exhibition has already impressed someone. The ideas of rebellion, desire to act and demonstrate personal vision and comprehension of the events  this is what motivated Klara to present this modern art exhibition.

Discussion

Art and Enthusiasm of Klara Liden

One French Thomistic philosopher, Etienne Gilson, admitted that it was better to turn back to pictorial philosophical approach in order to demonstrate how paintings and, at the same time, other art masterpieces could easily demonstrate the concrete act of existence. (Gilson, 7)

This young Swedish artist with her exhibition under consideration is full of enthusiasm. Can it be that a big blank box, placed at the center of the room, turns out to be rather attractive for many people? At the Museum of Modern Art, this event gathers more and more people every day. This box cannot stay monumental for a long period of time  it would be not that interesting to observe, this is why Klara Liden makes this creature work, shelving.

And, finally, it is necessary to admit that modern art cannot forget about innovations with various video and audio additions, so, in the corner on the floor, there is a video monitor, where short video is shown during three and a half minutes. The peculiar feature of this video is Lidens presence on it. She stands on the Manhattan bank of the East River and skips little stones across the water. To my mind, such choice of the video is not casual.

These stones in the water may symbolize a life that lasts not for a long period of time, but its movements are really brilliant and attract the attention of many people, and the consequences of these movements, the traces on the water, excite again and again. Lidens exhibition lasts during a certain period of time, and, as the traces in the water, left by the stone, her work should be kept in mind for a long period of time.

What Newspapers Write about the Exhibition

Not many magazines and newspapers are ready to describe the events, which happen now in the Museum of Modern Art, however, New York Times presents a captivating article about this artist and her abilities to create unbelievable things to the viewer. Holland Cotter writes about the exhibitions the following:

The idea, as I read it, was to keep a piece of the show outside the art space and in the world, which meant incorporating the world  whoever happened to sit on the bench  into the show. Over the years she has negotiated similar transactions between art and life in other places, in other ways. (Cotter, 2009)

So, people, who do comprehend the essence of art and the ideas, which artists want to represent in their works, will certainly understand that this box of papers is not a simple gathering of different sheet of papers. It is a history that is closely connected to people, their lives, and their future.

Other articles in newspapers and magazines like to describe this exhibition and share the ideas of what they see there: architectural interventions and installations by cannibalizing existing structures and materials, such as cardboard, corrugated metal, drywall, wood, and carpet remnants. (NY Art Beat)

Any piece of art may be compared to each other. Is it possible to relate poems and museum exhibitions? To my mind, it is quite possible. For example, Jacques Maritain told that to one degree or another, even in the most obscure poems, even when the poet turns his back completely on intelligence, the intelligible sense is always there. (Maritain, 261)

Almost the same happens during the exhibition by Klara Liden: she makes an attempt to forget about the reasons and consequences, and create something untraditional, but taking into consideration some modern features and innovations. This is why her work is something really intelligent and true.

Conclusion

People should have a chance to forget about their current problems and affairs, and entertain for some period of time. Current exhibitions are the places, where people can do it with ease. Imagination of artists and their ideas are usually quite different and amazing. Klara Liden is a Swedish artist, who presents her exhibition Projects 89 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her work and video file turn out to be really interesting and unusual for our times, this is why lots of people are eager to visit this exhibit again and again.

Works Cited

Coomaraswamy, Ananda, K. Cristian and Oriental Philosophy of Art. Courier Dover Publication, 1956.

Cotter, Holland. Cutting Modernisms Big Cube Down to Size. The New York Times. 19 Mar. 2009. 16 Jun. 2009. <https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/arts/design/20lide.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=Projects%2089:%20Klara%20Liden&st=cse>

Gilson, Etienne. Painting and Reality. Meridian, 1959.

Maritain, Jacques. Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry: Abdrew Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts. Princeton University Press, 1977.

NY Art Beat, Projects 89: Klara Liden Exhibition. 16 Jun. 2009. <http://www.nyartbeat.com/event/2009/9B4A>

Introduction

The theme of identity explains how individuals view themselves as part of the wider society and culture. This is because peoples culture is all about connecting amongst themselves and with other members of the society.

The works My Bed by Emin Tracey and Nan and Brian in Bed by Nan Goldin present the theme of identity in detail. This paper will compare and contrast Tracey Emins work of art by the name My Bed with Nan Goldins work Nan and Brian in Bed.

Comparing and Contrasting Traceys My Bed and Goldins Nan and Brian in Bed

As a famous storyteller, Emin Tracey has used her work My Bed to explore the emotions that define the human soul. Through this work, different themes in art like body, emotion, place, identity, and science are evident. Emin has used this confessional work to explore herself as a human being with a certain identity (Robertson 32).

She achieves this by integrating her own art and private life thereby establishing a unique bond and intimacy between herself and the viewer. She identifies herself as a normal person who can be disoriented and heartbroken when things go wrong.

Through her own work of art, Tracey has decided to portray her own bed to explain her detachment with her soul. She has used the work to identify herself as a normal person who stands the chance of getting torn and insecure.

As it is the case with every person, she uses the theme of identity to show her inner feelings and connection with the world. She is in pain just as it is the case with the bed. What we observe in this work of art is that Traceys bed is in a mess.

She presents it in its embarrassing moment and glory. There are fag butts, worn clothes and panties, empty bottles and dirty sheets. This portrays a bloody situation characterizing her point of breakdown (Robertson 45).

This is an artistic way of identifying herself with the wider society. This is because life is usually hard and torments people by it at times. This brings a lot about the soul as something vulnerable to breakdown, anxiety and endless pain.

The work of art by Tracey portrays the aspects of the soul thereby identifying her feelings with the wider natural context. By presenting the bed in such a situation, Tracy has managed to share her own space. She reveals how insecure she appears to be. She identifies herself as a normal human being who is not perfect all the time (Robertson 43). This means that he is normal and imperfect just like the entire world.

With her bed in a mess, the viewer learns a lot about the weaknesses of the human soul especially when faced with heartaches and pain. She has used her own bed to explore her personal life as ordinary and full of mishaps and misfortunes.

This brings out the theme of identity since every individual has emotions and attachment to certain behaviors motivated by certain events. Just like any other person, the artist has used her work of art to identify herself as someone who fits in the society. Our culture and the people we interact with determine our actions and inner feelings.

My Bed by Tracey Emin

The work makes it possible for Emin to identify herself as a woman who affected by a breakdown. Everything around her bed is messy. The idea here is that her life is messy and therefore she must be seeking some form of re-invention in order to get back in track.

She has presented the bed to show her identity and connection with the human race. She examines a deeper meaning and emotion of the human soul. The bed is what identifies the artist and the kind of pain she must be facing (Robertson 67). The bed is a work of art used to identify the life situation of the artist in the wider context of the society.

As part of the theme of identity, the work of art presents a new sub-theme of essentialism. In the work of art, the artist has conveyed a conventional idea that human beings are natural beings with specific emotions. Apart from the common held stereotype, Emin has brought out the idea that identity of individuals is not something peculiarly relevant or attached to some cultures and not others.

The artist has presented the bed as a depiction of human emotion as something that is independent of peoples race or culture. It is something born deep in us, and affects the way we reason, behave and act during some our darkest hours (Robertson 34). Emin finds herself in a mess simply because she had a break-up and this affected herself psychologically. It is because of this fact that she finds herself disoriented and unattached to her inner feelings.

It is therefore acceptable that the art explores the unique identity of human beings. It explores how human beings identify themselves with their inner feelings and emotions. Because of what is going on in a person, he/she acts in a similar manner thereby affecting the wider relation with other people around.

The other idea presented by the work of art is how surroundings and settings define people. This is the case with Emin, who is deep trouble and faced a breakdown. The bed is her only companion and the reason she finds herself not pairing well with it and everything else that she uses including her own clothes.

From this work of art, we are compelled to observe that identity is something important as a theme in art (Robertson 84). This is because people are performing various identities depending on their situations and conditions. This affects their emotions as well as how they relate with other during certain critical moments.

In the second work of art Nan and Brian in Bed, the viewer observes that Nan Goldin has painted herself with one of her lovers by the name Brian. The self-portrait has a number of themes including sexuality, identity, domesticity and gender.

This is the outstanding different with Tracey work which presents the themes of identity, emotion and place (Robertson 49). Goldin is famous for documenting works with women in barrooms, sexual acts, and the culture of dependency. This exact thing stands out in the work Nan and Brian in Bed.

Nan and Brian in Bed by Nan Goldin

However, it is notable that the theme of identity is identifiable in the self-portrait by Nan Goldin. In this painting, Nan has presented herself as a natural human being who has emotional and sexual desires. She views herself as part of the wider societal setting and the reason she presents herself as a sexual being through the work of art (Robertson 78). By portraying herself in this self-portrait, it is notable that Nan has identified her unique stand as a human being and the way she relates with her audience.

After carefully examining the portrait, the viewer observes that the work of art depicts drug use, aggressiveness, and violence. This shows the kind of life she might have led as well as how it affected herself as a woman.

Through the work, Nan has managed to identify herself as someone different from what might be the expectation of the society (Robertson 87). She explores her work beyond male centric behaviors. Nan stands out as an achiever in a field dominated by males because of her work. However, while she is a great artist, this does not make her different. She is therefore a normal human being who has desires just like any other person.

In this self-portrait, Nan brings out the theme of identity. She identifies herself as a human being who loves life. While Tracey presents herself indirectly through her bed, Nan identifies herself in an outwardly manner by painting herself in bed with her lover. By so doing, she presents herself as someone who has attitude and feelings.

The similarity in the two works of art is that they explore and present a deeper meaning and idea within the human soul. Pain and affection are two unique feelings that define the human soul and identify a person within the wider societal context (Robertson 104).

The self-portrait by Nan has also underscored the sub-theme of essentialism. For years, people have stereotyped women as individuals used by males for sexual purposes and desires. This is something that widely examined and studied for years. However, the artist has explored the issue from a different perspective.

She uses her work of art to bring out a new meaning and concept about life and love. The theme of identity comes out from the painting with Nan being in control of the situation. This is because she is a person who can interact with others and gain satisfaction in her life.

By presenting herself in the self-portrait, the artist has explored the idea that she is a free person who knows what she needs in her life. By so doing, she identifies herself as a successful person who is performing her identity without any foreign control (Robertson 106).

It is therefore agreeable that the artist has used a self-portrait to portray her own identity and pass her message to the audience. By relying on the theme of identity, Nana has managed to break the traditional notion or mold whereby issues of sexuality and works of art tend to be male-dominated.

She has presented her independence through the work of art thereby identifying herself as a successful artist to the audience. While Nan has identified herself as a contented person in life, Tracey relies on the same theme to identify herself as a normal person with weaknesses just like any other person.

Conclusion

It is agreeable that the two paintings present the theme of identity to the viewers. The artists have managed to present this theme by analyzing the gap between life and the soul. As human beings, the artists have feelings that define their behaviors and attitudes towards life

The attachment of people and the bedroom is also a part of human identity. It is notable that we can rely on art to express our stands, feelings, emotional attachments and lifestyles. The two artists have therefore managed to use their works of art to bring out the theme of identity. This has helped the viewer understand how people interact with their environment as well as their inner self.

Works Cited

Robertson, Jean. Themes of Contemporary Arts Visual Art after 1980. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.

Historically, cultural traditions in Asia and South America have played a large role in artistic style and content in those respective regions. From ancient pictographs to passionate paintings depicting a region’s triumphs and losses, art records memories of millennia past. Symbols of the past can still be found in modern art. In Mexico, pieces may combine the culture of the Aztecs with Catholic symbols. Cambodian artworks might depict traditional colors and a remembrance of the pain caused by the Khmer Rouge genocide. While adding a modern touch to their works, contemporary artists in Cambodia and Mexico use traditional symbolism and color in different ways to pay homage to their respective cultures. Teang ‘Din’ Borin and Favio ‘Curiot’ Martinez are examples of such contemporary artists that each take inspiration from their individual countries and cultures.

Hundreds of years ago, Khmer art was etched into the walls of prominent Cambodian temples. Many ancient documents, books, and artworks were burned during the Khmer Rouge during the 20th century. This unfortunate erasure of history has left behind very few pieces of art from ancient Cambodia. Wall carvings in the surviving temples, such as Angkor Wat, are some of the last remaining examples of the ancient Khmer style of art. These carvings often depicted royalty, soldiers riding war elephants, and Apsara dancers. Apsara dancers, which have been present in Khmer culture since the 7th century, actually originated in Buddhist and Hindu mythology. According to Hindu mythology, the dancers were beautiful female nymphs from heaven that protected the gods from mortals by hypnotizing them with their slow, mesmerizing dance movements (Carruthers). The Khmer people believed these angels would bring good fortune and fertility to the royal family. Traditionally, the dancers wore ornate headdresses in gold, colorful silk costumes, and jewelry on every limb. They would also bend the fingers back in an elegant shape, representing the blooming of a flower. The Cambodian born self-taught artist, Din, would often travel to ancient temples with carvings of Apsara dancing and use them as a reference for his paintings (Pisei).

Din began his career as an architect, but his paintings are a departure from structure – they often depict the graceful, fluid movements of Apsara (Pisei). Din takes the symbol of a traditional Apsara dancer and places it over an abstract background. Many of the dancers appear like they are floating. Din often paints a monochromatic background on his canvas and then uses pops of color to highlight the features of the dancers, making them stand out (Vachon). This creates a beautiful balance of the bold colors and ethereal atmosphere. In the piece, ‘Apsara’, Din uses a bright scarlet background and, for contrast, a turquoise costume on the dancer. He also adorns the dancer with a gold headdress and golden jewels. In Khmer tradition, gold represents fortune and red represents power and strength. The turquoise accents are a pop of fresh color, displaying the balance between traditional and contemporary aspects of the Cambodian culture. The use of color in this piece is powerful, and complements the elegance of the dancer. It is interesting to note the rigidity of the dancer’s arms in this piece, especially when compared with the whimsical skirt. While the black undertones near the dancer’s hips give structure and form, that is lost as the skirt disintegrates into feathery shards. This highlights the elegant movement of the dancer, while the upper body displays the precision and strength required for Apsara dancing. This effect provides a seamless transition from the dancer’s body to the background, uniting the dancer with the ether. Although this painting significantly highlights only a few colors, they are bold and bright.

Rather than idolizing angels, the Aztec people revered nature and animals, and their art reflected this admiration. Their art also included spiritual iconography. “The gods were often depicted, and they themselves often resembled animals of various kinds. The drawings of the gods were often sharp and angular, brightly colored” (Ancient Aztec Art). One example of this is ‘Quetzalcoatl’, who was a powerful deity thought to be a mixture of a plumed bird and a rattle snake (Cartwright). In the modern Mexican culture, art can often depict these same Aztec gods, or perhaps warriors, interacting with natural objects like the sun, water, snakes, and birds. These pieces typically use a lot of bright color, which may relate to the significance of color in the Mexican culture. The Maya people were able to create vibrant colored dyes from their natural surroundings. From bird feathers to tree lichen, these native peoples used the plants and animals around them as a source for red, blue, yellow, green, and more. These dyes could be used to color wool for clothing, or to decorate the faces of those being sacrificed to the gods. People used the resources available to them in that region, which is now Mexico. This rich history of color can reveal much about the cultural traditions of the ancestors of the Mexican people. “Color is such a subjective thing, but in Mexico it is a powerful inheritance from pre-Columbian ancestors” (‘What Colors Tell Us About the History of Mexico’).

Curiot is a Mexican artist who also uses gods and mythical creatures in his art. His imagined creatures are inspired by ancient cultures where people worshipped gods associated with animals or natural phenomena, such as the Aztecs. Curiot uses sharp angles and vibrant colors to interpret the mythical deities in his art, mirroring the artistic style of the Aztec people. However, Curiot enjoys “creating characters that are part of tribes and cultures that end up having their own history” (Curiot). He does not simply wish to retell old tales, but to create his own history by adding a twist to the traditional symbolism and imagery. The artist also adds human elements to many of his paintings to show the imbalance of nature. Curiot’s piece, ‘Cosmic Dance’, depicts a vibrant mythical deity. This being has feathers on its legs, an ornate, mask-like face, knees that resemble Quetzalcoatl, and a torso made of cosmic dust. Curiot uses a cornucopia of colors to depict the dancing deity, who seems to have a humor to its movements, reminiscent of a court jester. He also incorporated skulls along the figure’s neck, perhaps as a reference to the history of Día De Los Muertos in Mexican culture (Jobson). While this design is heavily influenced by the artist’s ancestral history, it is made modern through the use of vivid colors that the Aztec people did not have access to during their time. The deity contained inside Curiot’s imagination truly comes to life in this piece.

Din and Curiot each use culture, color, and imagination differently in their works. Mythological creatures combined with a modern flair are featured in both artist’s work. The culturally significant beings in each piece are portrayed in a similar pose. Din uses this pose to pay homage to traditional Apsara dance movements, while Curiot uses the pose to give personality to his imagined deity. While Din’s character has no defined legs and seems to float, Curiot gives his whimsical creature legs and a platform to stand on. This is interesting because it contrasts the supposed use of color in each piece. Both Din’s and Curiot’s pieces are brightly colored, though Din’s dancer and colors give a feeling of peace while Curiot’s piece is energized and whimsical. Din chose to use a few meaningful colors, intentionally chosen to reflect the tradition of Apsara and make the dancer stand out from the solid background. Curiot’s background colors are less contrasting than Din’s, yet the Aztec-inspired character still jumps off the canvas because it contains so many bold colors. Both artists chose to use meaningful colors in their respective heritages with a modern twist; Din uses the Khmer red and gold with a pop of turquoise and Curiot uses a highly pigmented version of the Mexican red, yellow, and green with other colors as highlights. Both artists use bright colors to create a vivid landscape that the viewer can almost jump into; these pieces spark the imagination.

Comparing art from Cambodia and Mexico is intriguing because both cultures seem to place emphasis on color and on ancestral heritage. The Cambodian and Mexican people have survived through tremendous tragedies, yet the contemporary art seems to highlight the positive aspects of history and the incredible strength of their people. These themes are present in ‘Apsara’ and ‘Cosmic Dance’, along with a modern understanding of effective color usage. These two pieces demonstrate that one should not forget where they come from in the pursuit of originality. The use of traditional themes and colors breathes life into contemporary art, which is evidenced in both Cambodia and Mexico.

Contemporary art is pieces of work that is created in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced form and their work is based around things, people or places surrounding themselves as artists, through my current research I’m looking into the contemporary art forms and how they’re used to promote ocean conservation and the damage humans are causing to our species, such as, coral reefs, plants and animals that most people may not even know exist.

There are many contemporary topics in today’s art world such as, painting, sculpture, drawing, dance, music, installation art, photography and a wide range more. I’ve chosen to look more closely into the contemporary art forms that are influenced by the art in nature but more specifically the oceans.

I started my research by looking into this artist named Marie Antuanelle. Antuanelle is spiritual naturalist in a way she takes herself on a walk along a beach to meditate, to get the feeling, and understand which color palate to have to paint in. Sometimes uses an aerial photography- which is a bird’s eye view of the place for the composition, or for the perspective. Then she also collects the fallen objects that she finds, she also likes to find a nice combination in color, but also with their meaning. Because she says that “each mineral has their own healing powers”.

This lady clearly expresses a naturalist’s approach to spiritual ways of looking at the world this is clearly seen in the way that she does her practice. I chose to look at Antuanelle as each of her pieces looks as if it’s a photograph, also I love how visually pleasing her paintings are, each painting is designed on the mood and attitude she will have on that day even if they come across as looking very similar, in her head space and mind they are all significantly different.

Antuanelle has a very unique way to her pieces by the way that she places found objects from her walks from meditating to find the visual aspects that she needs, this is what enticed me to find out more about her work. Personally, I think it’s a very intricate textural detail that adds a lot of effect to her pieces, she also continues this reoccurring theme in all her paintings. I feel like this has drawn me to include something significant like this within my own practice, I would like to do this in our 410 projects as the theme links in very closely.

At the start of Antuanelles dream of becoming an artist, she was influence by lots of books about culture and art, all influential artists with colorful replications of their works-Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Monet, Cezanne. Art became a therapy for her, as she had a tough upbringing, also heavily influenced by her grandmother as she was her driving force behind her practice and creativity. She inspired her to do and try so many new things which lead to her creating these stunning artworks. In Antuanelle’s recent pieces she often uses an aerial drone for photography as her main source for the perspective and colors. she really encourages painting with music on as it gives a certain energy and the character to my movements which feeds into her work.

This artist has such amazing techniques and talent that she brings across throughout all of her projects, she uses ‘liquid glass’, which is an epoxy resin, but also mixes with other mixed media too. The resin looks like the translucent water which is extremely inspiring as it naturally resembles the idea of the ocean, epoxy resin is a very challenging media to use as you’re only allowed to have 30 minutes to pour the colors and after that, you can’t touch it, you just have to keep an eye to monitor it. The painting will continue to change during 3 to 8 hours, and after two days the next layer can be added. It is translucent and you can see one layer through another. This creates depth and very organic shapes. This is what I admire about her work is that she’s trying to make it less man-made and more natural. She continues to paint in this way, as she is pleased with the natural look, she perceives from it.

Following on through my research I came across an Artist named Aude Bourgine, who uses their art to promote ocean conservation. Bourgine has taken it upon herself to do this through her craft. And she is “driven by the hope of raising awareness on these issues and convincing us that we can still get our act together” Many people around the world are trying their best to save our seas, including contemporary artists.

French artist Bourgine’s work is inspired by her love of the environment and a fear of guilt from human society has done to the natural oceans. In her most recent and most successful project using textiles, beads, and sequins, the artist creates displays that capture the beautiful colors and sense of life that the coral reefs once had. Using these wonderful techniques, she has adapted she has created a series of sculptures to create this imagery, this projected was named ‘Lungs of the Oceans’.

Bourgine’s sculptures are all very unique by their small intricate detailing, many different shapes and textures of living coral. Each of them is enclosed in glass jars, Bourgine has done this so that each piece of work is almost protected from harm caused humans. The artist says that “If we do not rapidly change our relationship with our environment, oceans will be dead by 2050”. She also carries her passion for ocean conservation throughout other projects she has done which includes, reality, coral reef and 2048.

2048 is what her visions are if us as humans don’t change our attitude and behavior towards our planet, Bourgine shows some of the consequences we may face such as unavoidable disappearance of sea species. I decided to look into Bourgine’s work because of how powerful her message is towards ocean conservation and all our wild species, I think she has displayed her work in a very careful way in which she enforces her message by placing each textual piece individually inside glass jars to protect them from the human disruption. The way that she has displayed her work in her project ‘Lungs of the Ocean’ has inspired me, as I think that she has taken great through on how to present it in a way that you can show the key message she trying to bring across within it.

She mainly composes textile sculptures, assembled, embroidered, from natural and recycled materials, in an attempt to become aware of the vulnerability of our environment. The artist places the audience at the centre of a design of a theatrical scenery – amazing underwater worlds that are displayed with disturbing sounds and lights that draw the attention to the main focus points. Bourgine is a worried artist, but determined to share with us her wonder for the beauty and fragility of nature. Bourgine is heavily influence by a contemporary issue that is happening with in our world, an issue is caused by humans and can only be resolved by us too.

Continuing on with my research I discovered a photographer, filmmaker – Alejandro Durán, he’s based in New York and Mexico. Photographic work spans fine art, fashion, and nature. Durán’s latest project, ‘Washed Up’ is an ocean conservation photography project in Mexico that uses washed up rubbish and plastic from the shores from all over the world in which he creates unusual sculptures. The artist was incredibly disturbed by the amount of rubbish he saw on the beaches in Mexico, Duran worked into the landscape, with a specific color palette, turning the rubbish and landscape into a visually pleasing piece of artwork. I took an interest into Durán’s latest project because he’s turned something that is seen as a negative into something that’s a positive, and amongst this he is creating something attractive to look at out of the negativity that’s been left by a variety of people. I also think that it’s a very clever way to clear up all of the rubbish that has been left behind. I’m very drawn to the way that he chooses and decides what colors and different pieces of rubbish that he uses for each location, and I find the way that it almost looks as if the pieces that he’s placed are supposed to be part of the landscape he’s chosen. Durán uses this international debris to create color-based plastics, site-specific sculptures that show conflict between man-made and nature. The plastic mimics algae, roots, rivers, or fruit, reflecting the infiltration of plastics into the natural environment.

I have taken my research on board and I think that with the information that I have collected on Marie Antuanelle (which is an artist I previously spoke about) and Durán’s work it’ll really support me in upcoming topics. I think this because they’re both using materials that they have found on their walks and have included them within their own practice, and each of the objects that both of these artists have used have a relationship with the subject or the location that they are using in their work.

One of the most important aspects of contemporary art is that it allows artists to show their own expression of art through painting, sculpture, and performance art, anyone can express themselves in a way that will be observed and appreciated by others.

Firstly, what is gender inequality? Gender inequality also known as sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.

Sexism can be experienced anywhere and everywhere but why is it so normalized in the entertainment industry specifically? From men getting paid more than women starring in the same film to women being shamed for what they choose to sing about. This has become the normality.

Back in August 2020 two female American rappers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, dropped their song ‘WAP’ (Wet A** P***y), this song became very popular very quickly and has had over 54 million streams since its release. However, not all comments were positive about this song. Globally the song sparked uproar because of the explicit language used and the subject of the song. Some opinions supported the song because they felt the lyrics were about female empowerment, and how women talking about their sex life should be normalized and not looked down upon, but some were the opposite claiming that the song was disgusting and made people uncomfortable because it was about female pleasure. Each to their own, but this raises the question, is their similar backslash for sexually explicit songs sung by men?

Since becoming a teenager I have heard many of my male friends sing lyrics from their favourite male artists many include rap songs that contain descriptions about sex and how women are treated when it comes to sex. One song is ‘Or Nah’ written by Tyrone William Griffin Dijon Isaiah Mcfarlane Cameron Thomaz and sung by Ty Dolla $ign, The Weeknd, Wiz Khalifa, and DJ Mustard. The lyrics in this song are just as if not more explicit than ‘WAP’ yet it hasn’t received the same criticism.

In January 2021 I created a survey that asked questions about gender inequality in the entertainment industry. It was uploaded to my Snapchat story enabling anyone to answer. After 24 hours, there were 41 responses,29 of them being female and 12 of them being male. Participants ranged from under 15 years to 30. The last two questions on my survey were about what their opinions were on two songs that are considered sexually explicit. These were ‘WAP’ and ‘Blurred lines’. Although both songs are about sex, they both have very different meanings and are sung by different genders. ‘WAP’ sung by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and ‘Blurred Lines’ sung by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell Williams Participants were asked what their favourite music genre was and 34.2% answered pop, 17.1% answered hip-hop, 17.1% also answered rap, 7.3% answered rock, another 7.3% answered country and 19.5% answered other. 68.3%, later on, answered that they had been offended by a singer’s lyrics in their song.7.3% said it was because it was explicit, 31.7% said it was because of its sexism, 29.3% said it was both because they found it sexist and explicit and another 32.1% said it was neither explicit nor sexist. Participants then responded to the question asking which gender was it that made them feel offended of which 73.2% of people said male.29.3% of people then mentioned that they wouldn’t listen to this artist in the future, here are some of their reasons; ‘it shows no respect’, ‘made me feel uncomfortable’, ‘I would listen if they did a non-explicit version’, ‘the values they stand for are not right’ ‘I don’t support what they’re saying’ and so on. When asked the question ‘Do you think sexist lyrics influence society and people’s expectations on how they should act?’ 82.9% of participants answered yes. 65.9% of people also think there is a gender imbalance in the entertainment industry. 95.1% of people answered yes to whether there is a gender pay gap worldwide.

The final questions asked about their opinions on the songs ‘WAP’ and ‘Blurred Lines’. All opinions were very honest, stating that ‘Blurred Lines’ was ‘offensive, degrading and sickening’, ‘supports the idea of rape’, and ‘Like many other songs sung by men, sexualizing women but being honest I rarely ever took notice of the lyrics’, ‘big influence in rape culture and that that song shouldn’t be allowed to be played it’s sexist and encourages men that it’s ok for them too rape girls depending on what they are wearing’ this particular opinion explains how sexism and rape can be normalized outside of the entertainment industry and in everyday life.’

Internationally ‘WAP’ received a lot of hate not long after its release. After seeing the hateful comments towards ‘WAP’ the opinions from my peers took me by surprise. They were a lot more positive and not derogatory. Respondents indicated that ‘I like it. It’s women talking about their bodies, not some guy sexualizing them and then profiting off of the sexualization of women.’ ‘I don’t personally agree with the lyrics but respect that the whole point was to highlight the double standard that women are told that they shouldn’t rap like that in the music industry, but men can talk provocatively and disrespectfully about women as much as they wish.’ ‘Undermines women’s attempt to counter male stereotypes.’ ‘I think the ladies have attracted more attention for singing about material than would have been the case if they had been male. I think that’s a shame in today’s world where we aim for gender equality. Personally, though I do not need to hear such explicit lyrics from an artist of any gender as I think powerful and fun statements can be made without them.’

Sexism isn’t just evidenced in the music industry; it’s also seen in the media. Take the 31-year-old American female singer, Taylor Swift. As a woman, she hasn’t had the easiest journey of fame. She’s white and now extremely wealthy but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s experienced an easy time in the industry. For years Taylor Swift has spoken about the sexism she has faced, both in the industry and via the general public. She has frequently spoken about how male artists don’t receive the same amount of derogatory comments as women and has written a song about it called The Man. The music video shows Taylor Swift dressed up as a successful professional man who promotes self-adoration by surrounding himself with people who worship him both in business and pleasure. Even as a father figure he was congratulated and admired for taking his young daughter to the park when this is traditionally considered a ‘woman’s job’ to which women do not usually receive any formal or information adoration for

Gender discrimination is also frequently seen in Hollywood. Celebrities everyday are faced with criticism just because of their gender. Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone has commented that some of her male co-stars limited their paychecks to match hers as they had originally been offered more money. This begs the question of why men’s pay needed to be lowered rather than women’s pay to ensure equality. The publicly funded BBC has also been criticized in the past for paying women less than men for doing the same job e.g. presenting the national news. A report in 2017 showed the BBC to have a median pay gap of 9.3%. (since reduced to 6.7% but still a significant difference)

It’s disappointing that it took until 2017 for the BBC to formally acknowledge the existence of a pay gap almost 100 years after women gained the right to vote. In 1918 the Representation of the People Act made it law that women over the age of 30 who occupied a house (or were married to someone who did) could vote. This meant 8.5 million women could have their say over who was in parliament – about 2 in every 5 women in the UK. The division of pay between both genders in the entertainment industry is often based on age-old stereotypes. The percentage of women working on films on and off camera has begun to decline since the late nineteen-nineties. According to the New York Film Academy, ‘Women buy 50% of movie tickets sold in the U.S.’.

Strong female characters such as Katniss Everdeen in The ‘Hunger Games’, Black Widow in ‘The Avengers and ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’, or, surprisingly Merida in ‘Brave’ finally seemed to head in the right direction for equal opportunities in the entertainment industry promoting the empowerment of women.

The perception of women on screen is a factor that is likely to discourage many women from becoming involved in acting. Many films and dramas sexualize and manipulate female roles, so why would a woman feel compelled to work with producers and directors who create film projects like this? Some women may use these films as a challenge to implement change in the way women are viewed in the industry, but others may be put off by what could be considered a hostile environment.

In 2014 no women appeared on the top ten list of the highest paid actors. In 2018-2019 the world’s ten highest-paid actresses earned a combined $314.6 million. That’s 69% more than the previous year, but still far less than the top ten male actors’ $588.3 million.

Firstly, what is gender inequality? Gender inequality also known as sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on a person’s sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.

Sexism can be experienced anywhere and everywhere but why is it so normalized in the entertainment industry specifically? From men getting paid more than women starring in the same film to women being shamed for what they choose to sing about. This has become the normality.

Back in August 2020 two female American rappers Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, dropped their song ‘WAP’ (Wet A** P***y), this song became very popular very quickly and has had over 54 million streams since its release. However, not all comments were positive about this song. Globally the song sparked uproar because of the explicit language used and the subject of the song. Some opinions supported the song because they felt the lyrics were about female empowerment, and how women talking about their sex life should be normalized and not looked down upon, but some were the opposite claiming that the song was disgusting and made people uncomfortable because it was about female pleasure. Each to their own, but this raises the question, is their similar backslash for sexually explicit songs sung by men?

Since becoming a teenager I have heard many of my male friends sing lyrics from their favourite male artists many include rap songs that contain descriptions about sex and how women are treated when it comes to sex. One song is ‘Or Nah’ written by Tyrone William Griffin Dijon Isaiah Mcfarlane Cameron Thomaz and sung by Ty Dolla $ign, The Weeknd, Wiz Khalifa, and DJ Mustard. The lyrics in this song are just as if not more explicit than ‘WAP’ yet it hasn’t received the same criticism.

In January 2021 I created a survey that asked questions about gender inequality in the entertainment industry. It was uploaded to my Snapchat story enabling anyone to answer. After 24 hours, there were 41 responses,29 of them being female and 12 of them being male. Participants ranged from under 15 years to 30. The last two questions on my survey were about what their opinions were on two songs that are considered sexually explicit. These were ‘WAP’ and ‘Blurred lines’. Although both songs are about sex, they both have very different meanings and are sung by different genders. ‘WAP’ sung by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion and ‘Blurred Lines’ sung by Robin Thicke featuring Pharrell Williams Participants were asked what their favourite music genre was and 34.2% answered pop, 17.1% answered hip-hop, 17.1% also answered rap, 7.3% answered rock, another 7.3% answered country and 19.5% answered other. 68.3%, later on, answered that they had been offended by a singer’s lyrics in their song.7.3% said it was because it was explicit, 31.7% said it was because of its sexism, 29.3% said it was both because they found it sexist and explicit and another 32.1% said it was neither explicit nor sexist. Participants then responded to the question asking which gender was it that made them feel offended of which 73.2% of people said male.29.3% of people then mentioned that they wouldn’t listen to this artist in the future, here are some of their reasons; ‘it shows no respect’, ‘made me feel uncomfortable’, ‘I would listen if they did a non-explicit version’, ‘the values they stand for are not right’ ‘I don’t support what they’re saying’ and so on. When asked the question ‘Do you think sexist lyrics influence society and people’s expectations on how they should act?’ 82.9% of participants answered yes. 65.9% of people also think there is a gender imbalance in the entertainment industry. 95.1% of people answered yes to whether there is a gender pay gap worldwide.

The final questions asked about their opinions on the songs ‘WAP’ and ‘Blurred Lines’. All opinions were very honest, stating that ‘Blurred Lines’ was ‘offensive, degrading and sickening’, ‘supports the idea of rape’, and ‘Like many other songs sung by men, sexualizing women but being honest I rarely ever took notice of the lyrics’, ‘big influence in rape culture and that that song shouldn’t be allowed to be played it’s sexist and encourages men that it’s ok for them too rape girls depending on what they are wearing’ this particular opinion explains how sexism and rape can be normalized outside of the entertainment industry and in everyday life.’

Internationally ‘WAP’ received a lot of hate not long after its release. After seeing the hateful comments towards ‘WAP’ the opinions from my peers took me by surprise. They were a lot more positive and not derogatory. Respondents indicated that ‘I like it. It’s women talking about their bodies, not some guy sexualizing them and then profiting off of the sexualization of women.’ ‘I don’t personally agree with the lyrics but respect that the whole point was to highlight the double standard that women are told that they shouldn’t rap like that in the music industry, but men can talk provocatively and disrespectfully about women as much as they wish.’ ‘Undermines women’s attempt to counter male stereotypes.’ ‘I think the ladies have attracted more attention for singing about material than would have been the case if they had been male. I think that’s a shame in today’s world where we aim for gender equality. Personally, though I do not need to hear such explicit lyrics from an artist of any gender as I think powerful and fun statements can be made without them.’

Sexism isn’t just evidenced in the music industry; it’s also seen in the media. Take the 31-year-old American female singer, Taylor Swift. As a woman, she hasn’t had the easiest journey of fame. She’s white and now extremely wealthy but that doesn’t necessarily mean that she’s experienced an easy time in the industry. For years Taylor Swift has spoken about the sexism she has faced, both in the industry and via the general public. She has frequently spoken about how male artists don’t receive the same amount of derogatory comments as women and has written a song about it called The Man. The music video shows Taylor Swift dressed up as a successful professional man who promotes self-adoration by surrounding himself with people who worship him both in business and pleasure. Even as a father figure he was congratulated and admired for taking his young daughter to the park when this is traditionally considered a ‘woman’s job’ to which women do not usually receive any formal or information adoration for

Gender discrimination is also frequently seen in Hollywood. Celebrities everyday are faced with criticism just because of their gender. Oscar-winning actress Emma Stone has commented that some of her male co-stars limited their paychecks to match hers as they had originally been offered more money. This begs the question of why men’s pay needed to be lowered rather than women’s pay to ensure equality. The publicly funded BBC has also been criticized in the past for paying women less than men for doing the same job e.g. presenting the national news. A report in 2017 showed the BBC to have a median pay gap of 9.3%. (since reduced to 6.7% but still a significant difference)

It’s disappointing that it took until 2017 for the BBC to formally acknowledge the existence of a pay gap almost 100 years after women gained the right to vote. In 1918 the Representation of the People Act made it law that women over the age of 30 who occupied a house (or were married to someone who did) could vote. This meant 8.5 million women could have their say over who was in parliament – about 2 in every 5 women in the UK. The division of pay between both genders in the entertainment industry is often based on age-old stereotypes. The percentage of women working on films on and off camera has begun to decline since the late nineteen-nineties. According to the New York Film Academy, ‘Women buy 50% of movie tickets sold in the U.S.’.

Strong female characters such as Katniss Everdeen in The ‘Hunger Games’, Black Widow in ‘The Avengers and ‘Captain America: Winter Soldier’, or, surprisingly Merida in ‘Brave’ finally seemed to head in the right direction for equal opportunities in the entertainment industry promoting the empowerment of women.

The perception of women on screen is a factor that is likely to discourage many women from becoming involved in acting. Many films and dramas sexualize and manipulate female roles, so why would a woman feel compelled to work with producers and directors who create film projects like this? Some women may use these films as a challenge to implement change in the way women are viewed in the industry, but others may be put off by what could be considered a hostile environment.

In 2014 no women appeared on the top ten list of the highest paid actors. In 2018-2019 the world’s ten highest-paid actresses earned a combined $314.6 million. That’s 69% more than the previous year, but still far less than the top ten male actors’ $588.3 million.

The article commences with the persona stating that he is black. It has further outlined that the persona’s plain declaration of his race shall have some social problems that must be addressed. In a nutshell, the persona has stated that his declaration concerning his race will create a fuss and thus he questions whether he should let the society to continue perceiving him as being a white.

According to Kocur and Leung, the majority of people in the United States have a predisposed notion that it is better to be white^[1]. This kind of thinking has deprived people the chance to identify the intrinsic values possessed by the blacks. According to the persona, blacks inherently possess a better culture than the whites.

The article has laid out that the persona’s decision to stick to his race would take a two fold interpretation in which some of the whites who are closely tied to him and his work viewing it as a betrayal. Such whites would conclude that the persona has insulted their previous relationship with him. On the other hand, a number of people would view his move as a business one in which the persona was seeking publicity to market his artistry^[2].

The author has further stated that his decision to identify himself as being black is not motivated by the desire to market his work, but to attain peace of mind that he would not have if he pretended to be white. It is evident that the persona had experienced some degrading scenarios in which white people had insulted blacks.

The persona greatly detests this kind of behavior and has narrated that various research works have been conducted where it has been proved that about 20% of all the whites in the United States have a black ancestry. Therefore, it is everybody’s obligation to choose where they belong without incriminating the other race and discrediting the research that has already been done in order to suit one’s social desires of being white or black^[3].

Response for the article

The issue of racism that is brought out in this article is complex. The persona has decried the acrimony that whites have towards the blacks in the United States. He has observed that whites are hypocritical in that they insult blacks in their absentia. This proves that the effects of racism have far reaching implications in that a number of moral issues arise as a result of racial prejudices.

The persona has said that his mind is at peace after identifying himself as a black rather hiding in the shadow of being a white, which is a mirage imagination. The opinion that peace is achievable by being proud of whatever race one belongs to is of essence as it depicts that human thoughts and affections are not legislated anywhere and they are unbridled by any law.

This gives everyone the free will to choose which race to belong to. Therefore, it is prudent to conclude that people have the freedom to decide whether they should weed out others based on their color or not. Therefore, it is the decision of the actor to flip to one side of the race and it has given him clarity of mind.

Bibliography

Kocur, Zoya, and Simon Leung. Theory in Contemporary Art Since 1985. Oxford: Blackwell publishers, 2005.

Footnotes

1. Zoya Kocur and Simon Leung, Theory in Contemporary Art Since 1985. (Oxford: Blackwell publishers, 2005), 184.
2. Zoya Kocur and Simon Leung, Theory in Contemporary Art Since 1985. (Oxford: Blackwell publishers, 2005), 184.
3. Zoya Kocur and Simon Leung, Theory in Contemporary Art Since 1985. (Oxford: Blackwell publishers, 2005), 185.

Analyzing a piece of art in its relationship to another one is not a very easy task but rather interesting one, especially when the matter concerns the comparison of a poem and a picture. Dealing with such an assignment involves some understanding of symbols hidden in this or that work of art and the ability to understand these symbols and interpret them. Usually, when a painting follows some literary work, it widens the picture that we could only imagine while reading the poem, it gives some additional impressions and enriches the picturesqueness of a certain work of art.

In the opposite case, we can speak of the same process but carried out by other means. That is, if in the first case the visual image reveals details of the literary work, in the second case the literary piece of art explains verbally all the underlying meanings of the painting that one could see but had difficulties with its understanding.

The poem and painting chosen for the analysis in this paper belong to the works of the second group, that is the picture came to existence much earlier than the poem which, in its turn, tried to expand the plot of the picture. For the comparison I have chosen the painting “Hunters in the snow” by the famous Netherlandish artist of the Renaissance epoch Peter Bruegel and the poem with the same title by the 19th century talented American poetry and prose author William Carlos Williams.

The author of the painting was famous for his pictures from the peasants’ life and the work under consideration is a nice illustration of his painting manner. William Carlos Williams, in his turn, was known as a skillful modernist and imagist,w hich he proved by the poem dedicated to the Bruegel’s picture.So, let us try to trace some similarities, as well as differences, between the two masterpieces of art.

The first, and the most important, difference between the works lies in the fact that they belong to absolutely different periods of the art history. The picture refers to the Renaissance epoch and reflects all basic features of the time – concentration on the figure of a human, depiction his life in all its aspects.

When we take a look at the Bruegel’s painting we get the impression of presence at the setting of the picture in the middle ages. But without knowing the specifics of that period we can be at a loss while interpreting the images in this picture. It is now that the poem by William Carlos Williams comes to our help. It is written in quite a modern language that explains the details of the people’s life in the Medieval times and makes the picture clearer to understand for an ordinary person. On the whole, the poem is a detailed description of the painting, from the beginning to the end it explains the images of the picture and leads the spectator in the epoch displayed in the painting:

The over-all picture is winter icy mountains

in the background the return

from the hunt it is toward evening

from the left sturdy hunters lead

in their pack the inn-sign

hanging from a broken hinge is a stag

(Williams,41).

As we can clearly see from the both works, they perfectly complete each other being integral parts of a larger piece of art that comprises visual and verbal images presenting a nice picture of the Renaissance epoch. We can not say that either the painting or the poem is dominant in this comparison. The authors from different historical periods managed to create two pieces of art that became almost an entity four centuries after the work had been started.

Works Cited

Williams, W.C. (2004). Classic Poetry Series. William Carlos Williams: Poems. PoemHunter.Com – The World’s Poetry Archive, 41.

The Modern movement is characterized by a focus on the wonders of the machine age. Furniture, architecture, sculpture, and typography were created that demonstrated harsh functionality. In working to find the ‘essence’ of their material in order to condense it down into its most functional form, the Modern movement had a profound impact on typography and design layout. “When used together, asymmetrical typography, geometric layout, and photographic illustration defined the radical new form language of Modernist design” (Chwast, p. 89). It was during the Modern movement that the rise in the social middle class in America gave birth to a growing graphic design industry in important areas such as advertising and packaging. Key artists during this period included Paul Renner and Jan Tschichold who re-wrote the rules of typography to more accurately reflect the modernist ideals in blatant recognition of the communicative qualities of the typeface itself. The characteristics most associated with Modernism can be traced through Tschichold’s self-titled typeface as compared to the more embellished forms of the Arts and Crafts movement that immediately preceded it represented by the work of William Morris.

Morris’ Golden typeface was designed to be used in his oversized books printed on a heavy irregular linen surface that was intended to approximate the rougher paper textures of the Middle Ages. He designed the text in 1890 to have the serif flourishes that gave his type its curves and flair while still remaining heavy enough to be printed appropriately within his books. “He sought to recapture the dark and solemn density of Nicolas Jenson’s pages” (Lupton, 2004).

The term ‘serif’ refers to the small flags that appear at the end of the lines that form the letters (Counterspace, 2007). In the example above, it can be seen that these serifs take on a strong triangular shape, joined to the main stroke with a series of brackets that serves both to fill in the negative space between the serif and the main body of the letterform as well as to introduce a softer, more rounded appearance. This technique thereby includes by design an effect that would have taken place anyway as the ink was applied to the uneven surface of the paper. At the same time, the main body of the letterform has a bolder stroke to it that allows it to remain dominant as well as legible upon the page. Counters, the enclosed or partially enclosed areas of blank space formed by the letters, remain open and rounded, giving the letterforms a friendly, more feminine appeal while ensuring any technical issues in the printing process do not reduce the legibility of the words. While the letterforms remain predominantly feminine in their overall characteristics, the rounded shapes, and serif features, they take on masculine importance in their heavy strokes and tight spacing that has the effect of filling the page with plenty of black ink (Shaikh, Chaparro & Fox, 2006). As a result, the type gives an impression of strength, nostalgia, and the romance of a by-gone age.

Like Morris’ design, Tschichold’s typeface was created for a specific use, but one significantly different from Morris’ nostalgic blast from the past in that it seeks to suggest a more modern, technological age. In Tschichold, the purpose of the typeface was to provide an easy-to-read font to be used with the new phototypesetting machine developed in Germany called the Uhertype (“Tschichold”, 2006). The design of this typeface, which occurred around 1928, was also similar to the design of Morris’ Golden in that it drew its inspiration from earlier forms.

An important difference between Tschichold’s typeface and the one designed by Morris is the absence of serifs. This sans-serif font presented the reader with a much cleaner impression, immediately doing away with everything that could be considered extraneous. Sharp, crisp angles and well-defined counters helped add to this overall impression of solidity, precision, and straightforward presentation. This was in keeping with the Modernist movement of machine-power and assembly-line construction. The letters march across the page in an orderly fashion, yet the bowls of the letters, presented with even brushstrokes, have an opposite effect of softening the letters. This provides the typeface with a no-nonsense, serious approach while remaining just friendly enough to remain approachable. The font differs from Morris’ designs in some other significant ways as well. The ascenders rise fully above the x-height, reaching equal status with the cap height whereas Morris’ design has many of the ascenders reaching only halfway to this point. This provides each letter with its own form of significance without allowing any to take subservient positioning. The open forms of the letters make them seem almost stretched out in comparison with Morris’ letters, allowing much more white space to insinuate within and between them, thereby opening up the page and further assisting the reading process.

While both fonts demonstrate a curious mixture of masculine and feminine qualities, delicate curves, and bold strokes, they each do so to different extents and effects. Morris’ typeface demonstrates a feminine style in its flowing lines and curved structures while Tschichold’s typeface captures the feminine in its smooth bowls and open structure. At the same time, Morris is able to suggest the masculine with his bold strokes and compact structure while Tschichold is able to capture it through his sharp angles and upright strokes. The way in which the letters are spaced, the heights to which they reach, the compactor open nature of their basic forms, the shapes of their counters, and the absence or presence of serifs all contribute to the readability and overall effect of each typeface. Even with the advent of new technology, the question of whether a serif font or a sans-serif font is more readable remains a topic of heavy debate thanks to the subtle changes that can be discerned in an instant (Ates, 2005), changes the human eye has been trained to recognize from the earliest advent of written language.

Works Cited

Ates, Farruk. “Typography: Serif vs. Sans-Serif.” KuraFire. (2005). Web.

Chwast, Seymour and Steven Heller. Graphic Style: From Victorian to Digital. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2000.

Counterspace. “Anatomy of Fonts.” Counterspace. (2007).

Lupton, Ellen. Thinking with Type: A Critical Guide for Designers, Writers, Editors & Students. Princeton: Architectural Press, 2004.

Shaikh, A. Dawn, Chaparro, Barbara S. & Fox, Doug. “Perception of Fonts: Personality Traits and Uses.” Usability News. Vol. 8, I. 1, (2006).

“Tschichold.” MyFonts. Cambridge, MA. (2006).