Every time I walk into the library and pick out yet another great book, I cannot help but remember how it all started. When I was young I loved books mostly because of their beautiful illustrations. I would often pick a book and admire its beautiful pictures of animals, children, landscapes, and the like. My parents noticed my love of books and they would often pick the most colored one for me. All this changed when my aunt Cate moved in with us when I was about five and a half years old.
At that time aunt Cate had just finished her degree in early childhood development. Her dream then was to be a children’s book writer. It was my aunt who revealed the other side of books to me. Previously my mom would pick a book and explain all the pictures and illustrations in it. My aunt on the other hand loved reading to me. She would passionately read to me and the experience was unforgettable. I still believe my aunt Cate is solely responsible for my love of books and the English language in general.
Body
Every night my aunt would walk into my room with a book in her hands, my world would come alive. She would narrate the story I had always wanted to know through the illustrations in those books. She would often smile every time I told her “read the one with the wolf and the girl”. Then she would passively remark, “But I read it just a few weeks ago?” I often thought I was being a burden to my aunt, which is why I could not wait to grow up and be able to read for myself.
However, unknown to me then was the fact that my interest in her reading helped her achieve her dreams. Now she has over a dozen children’s book under her authorship. She has since revealed to me that I was her first audience and my opinions mattered a lot.
Even when I was old enough to read, she still kept track of what I read and sometimes made a few suggestions. When I won my first spelling contest she was in the audience cheering me on. She often insisted on reading all my English compositions. When I was eight and thought it was time for me to read my first thousand-page novel, all she did was smile. The fact is from the time my aunt first quenched my thirst for a well written book, I embarked on a journey that has lead me to the finer things that come with the mastery of the English language.
Conclusion
I have changed my career choice a few times in the course of my life. There was a time I wanted to write children’s books like my aunt. Then there was a time I wanted to be novelist, a journalist, a script writer, and a few others that have escaped my mind. Still, all this time my aunt’s success has been my reference point. For now it does not matter what I end up doing, but my love for creativity and the English language will have to be reflected in my career path. My aunt used to tell me that the English language is like a tree; while its roots dig for the goodness, it is the leaves that bask in it. Therefore, I have decided to keep digging and I am sure the goodness will be reflected.
Central Italy has remained in European History of the 13th and 15th centuries given the reforms in the social structures of urban centres like San Gimignano, Siena, Perugia, and Florence. In the area of urban planning, Siena is the medieval of a medieval city and constantly rivalled Florence in urban structures.
Siena has preserved its gothic form in terms of architecture, town planning and influence on art over the centuries, some of which it developed between the 12th and 15th centuries.
The entire Siena City has been regarded as a piece of artistic work that blends into the Piazza del Campo landscape. Just like Porta Camollia on the streets of Florence (Martucci & Giovannetti 1997), Siena has pierced-gated double walls and towers at strategic points.
Even though the early inhabitants in Perugia and Siena faced numerous difficulties given the congestion of the two Italian cities, the cities remained symbolic in offering lessons to present designers on a sustainable community (Italian Cities 2006). Florence, for instance, had strong land usage regulations that are similar to the contemporary urban growth management, as well as tireless efforts to preserve amenity landscapes.
In the area of Tuscany, preservation of landscapes in urban areas has been continuous in order to attract tourists. Siena presents a sustainable European urban centre that current urban designers have to apply in their resolutions (Harvey n.d.).
In terms of city design, Siena has a well-preserved landscape comparable to San Gimignano, and an intensive planning that dates back to 1218. In the plan, the community took part in designing and maintaining the streets.
Similar to the design of Cistercian abbey of San Galgano, Siena began to build Palazzo Pubblico in 1297 under the control of city policies. Buildings in Siena had specified heights and shapes that were in line with the Gothic designs.
On the other hand, Florence, which had been a major rival to Siena, adopted the rectilinear Renaissance designs. In addition, the layout of the cities in central Italy had a moat and walls made of bricks, which surrounded the towns.
The designers took into consideration the essence of security and decoration by embedding round or square towers on the walls. The gates became the only point which one could access the towns, and they remained closed at night.
In order to eliminate obstacles that were thwarting comfortable movements, the medieval cities opted to have at least one clear street, which resulted in demolition of buildings that could cause obstruction. The medieval pattern involved construction car parks in improving orderliness in the planned environment.
The hilltop town of Siena and Florence realised emergence of essential new ideas in the arts, such as Giotto and Duccio. Siena is an example of a city that enhanced social sustainability during the 14th century, as well as a model city of effective urban planning.
During the medieval period, Siena urban design principles provided a long-lasting neighbourhood identity and the power or influence of a free city-state. The development culture in Siena assured inhabitants of high security at their respective places at all time. At present, tourists prefer to stay in this small hill town while making numerous trips to other parts of the province and countryside.
In taking care of the environment in designing their cities, Italians made Siena a car-free city from 1966. The urban designers constructed narrow roads that cars could not use, hence making the city to be a car restricted environment. In other towns like San Gimignano and Perugia, there are few parks meant to accommodate automobiles.
Early designers developed open spaces that favoured high-density developments. For example, the urban planners preferred use of circular walls that could accommodate an expansive population. The ability to extend walls and preservation of space made Siena to survive when its economy began to take-off between 13th and 14th century (Hutchison 2000).
With the constantly growing economy, Siena witnessed a double population by the end of the above period. Therefore, the city planners gave room for expansion in case of population increase- a phenomenon that Siena as a city has witnessed overtime (Historic Centre of Siena 1995).
For instance, there were provisions to control a plot of land and even alter the terrain before including other structures and services, which provided insights to planners on how an urban setting ought to be in order to accommodate possible changes like population increase. Conscious land-use planning, as well as national land-use laws have aided city protection even by having green areas within the urban centre.
As policymakers and master planners, the need for social services like hospitals, schools and insurances are vital in any urban setting, and they have to put such factors into concern when implementing any design process in a city. In designing and developing current urban centers, planners intend to make citizens happy by making the city meet possible challenges that come with new developments.
At high scales, planning concepts can easily take root, thus allowing for easy dealings with infrastructural issues. Currently, planners inculcate computer games to help handle issues of urban planning, but have not succeeded in systematic development of buildings, transport networks, and communal supports.
Design geometry in these towns was extremely complicated that it has remained to date with present urban planners having a glimpse of the art in their plans. Evolution of the guilds helped in the development of key cities in Italy.
During the Early Renaissance, Florence City Architects Brunelleschi and Alberti built the Dome of Florence Basilica, which was extremely big such that machines had to be used to hoist different sections into place.
Leon Alberti published a book Ten Books on Architecture which gave vivid instructions on how to adapt modern buildings to the ancient classical forms (Randolph 1995). Alberti used the classical façade design in building the Palazzo Rucellai (Florence) that had clear rectangular divisions with arched windows and ornamental entablatures.
The early renaissance designers preferred circular elements in building churches, Church of Sant’Andrea and Palazzo Rucellai included. During the high renaissance period, classical simplicity and harmony dogged the architectural designs, with the Pantheon, central layout plan, became popular, as well as adoption of other shapes for central plan buildings, such as octagon.
The greatest renaissance palace, Palazzo Farnese, rose during the late part of the renaissance; the building that had the shape of a rectangle also had a central courtyard in its layout. Of great significance was the rustication where the masonry wall was made rough instead of being smooth.
The late renaissance, on the other hand, involved severe complexity and novelty. Pallacidio villas in Venice marked the construction of series of extra-ordinary arches.
In Florence, archaeologists found conduits of water and sewerage and orderly street patterns just like in Siena. Before the Industrial Revolution, these cities were the champions in enhancing regulatory laws, housing, and sanitation practices (Morris 1994).
After Industrial Revolution, most cities in the world started to realize the rise of slums. With most planners designing cities in ways that cannot be expansive to accommodate new population, the ideas of the early cities in Italy can be of great importance to solve the rising congestion and slum development in key cities of the world.
An example of Philadelphia that was laid in 1682, planners, William Penn and Thomas Holme decided to use the gridiron pattern where straight streets crossed each other at 90o (Kostof 1992). At the same time, four public green areas made Philadelphia a green city.
The city’s large extension from River Schuylkill Delaware provided room for extension and growth in future. In the early twentieth century, most communities in the US, planners included made city planning a crucial parameter in designing.
Another example is the use of colonial squares that had been common in Siena and Florence (Moughtin 2003). New Amsterdam and Boston are some of the few towns that did not use systematic design in their growth, instead grew by accretion (Krier & Czechowski 1979). The architectural square became common in shops, private residences and even in churches.
Urban planning is a concept that touches on organisation of metropolitan regions within a country (What Is Urban Planning? n.d.). The concept works towards addressing issues that can arise in urban centres like spontaneous expansion in population.
In addition, urban planning works towards providing safety and essential services to urban inhabitants so that they can enjoy their lives. From a broad perspective, urban development cares about transport system in cities, building locations, zoning, and the overall picture that a city portrays to inhabitants and visitors.
Human beings desire to live happy lives, and in cities, the lives must be sustainable. Urban designers should use the planning principles of Siena to build a strong city, and, at the same time, empowering the neighbourhoods. In caring for the city, designers ought to put in place necessary strategies that can assist in empowering the neighbourhoods in order to avert situations of slum development in these new cities.
For instance, constructing affordable houses for the neighbouring city residences and allowing them to access goods and services can help in addressing the issue of neighbourhood empowerment. According to Balshaw and Kennedy (2000), a city can only be strong in development if the neighbours are also strong in their plans for future prospects.
At the same time, urban planners must have strategies that make the countryside sustainable and economically developed in order to avoid encroachment into urban centres. For example, converting arable and swampy lands in city-countryside to be productive in producing crops that can help make rural life sustainable is one option that urban planners can apply in maintaining the strengths of the cities.
The idea of well-designed water and sewerage systems that allow for expansion of services in case of population increase is essential in the current world given that the world population is expected to rise with increasing industrialisation. In taking care of population in urban planning, the concept of urbanism helps in improving sustainability for the present and future populace.
In addition, creation of spaces during construction allows for expansion of population, as in the cases of Perugia, San Gimignano, and Florence (Maunder 2008). Since congestion in urban centres has been a major challenge for the present urban planners, urban space should form a key component in the design process of all structures.
An analysis of Siena and Perugia roads revealed that they had extremely narrow roads, footpaths-like, which could not accommodate cars. This approach helped in minimising environmental degradation- a phenomenon that is a key topic to the present generation. The current populace has to use environmentally friendly services and even engage in activities that mitigate environmental destruction.
Evidently, the medieval planners had this idea in mind even though the effect to the environment was not great as compared to the present times (Taylor 2000). As a result, as a way of reducing harm to the environment, fauna and flora, urban planners have to incorporate this idea of building narrow roads that cannot accommodate cars within the new cities.
In implementing this strategy, there should be specific parking points for automobiles. Such moves increase the use bicycles, which are environmentally friendly, hence helping in protecting the environment and enhancing sustainability.
Since extreme rivalries always exist in a city that has skewed development, urban designers must ensure that they inculcate the concept of neighbourhood planning into city governance in order to have a comparable factionalism and less competition. Further, in using the ideas of Siena of building a social centre, urban planners will be able to enhance public interactions irrespective of the social status.
A public realm that enhances interaction promotes a unionism culture among different people in cities. The urban developers should also design cities that have direct link with the countryside just like the contado (territory) of the renaissance period in Siena (Taylor 2000).
Designing a city that can have places for agricultural production reduces overdependence on countryside farm outputs and helps promoting an urban-oriented lifestyle that is agriculturally minded.
Designers can apply the systems on the medieval times to design medieval new towns to the present generation to support economic walkability, development and tourism (Tibbalds 2001). For instance, tourists would prefer to reside in cities that have maximum security so that they can walk at any time.
The nature of the discussed Italian towns proves worth for urban designers to ensure that liveability and sustainability in the present towns remain feasible and practicable. If urban designers can apply the medieval design strategies in Siena and Florence in all their future designs, then they will be reduced movements of people from rural homes to urban centers.
If urban designers maintain the style of designs that Italians used in their cities, the present generation will be able to meet their needs without compromising on the abilities of the future generation from meeting their own necessities. Promoting sustainability and livability require pooling of knowledge and resources in developing expansive regions.
Urban developers play significant roles in developing such cities, and they can apply the medieval systems that Florence, Perugia and Siena designers used. The cities of the future can only be livable and sustainable if NGOs and government agencies pursue or address the two aspects in all initiatives.
Such moves are long-lasting and not compromising on the future as well as providing equity, safety, opportunities, and mobility. Simultaneously, opportunities for commercial investment, transportation, and housing are significant requirements for a livable and sustainable city.
References
Balshaw, M., & Kennedy, L 2000, Urban space and representation, Pluto Press, London.
Kostof, S 1992, The city assembled: the elements of urban form through history, Little- Brown, Boston.
Krier, R., & Czechowski, C 1979, Urban space, Academy Editions, London.
Martucci, R., & Giovannetti, B 1997, Florence: guide to the principal buildings: history of architecture and urban form (Rev. and extended ed.), Canal & Stamperia, Venezia.
Maunder, M 2008, Urban space, Callwey, München.
Morris, A. E 1994, History of urban form: before the industrial revolutions (3rd ed.), Longman Scientific & Technical, Harlow, Essex, England.
Moughtin, J. C 2003, Urban Design Street and Square, Elsevier, Burlington.
Randolph, B 1995, Art bulletin, Art Dept. of the New Brunswick Museum, St. John.
Taylor, F 2000, Making People-Friendly Towns Improving the Public Environment in Towns and Cities, Taylor, & Francis, London.
Tibbalds, F 2001, Making people-friendly towns improving the public environment in towns and cities, E & FN Spon Press, London.
Robert Kiyosaki is an American businessman who was born in 19474 and founded several successful companies. Born in Hilo, Hawaii, he graduated high school in 1965 and proceeded to attend the United States Merchant Marine Academy, receiving a bachelor’s degree and a military commission. He worked as the third mate on a tanker for half a year but decided that the job was not for him and returned to the army. Kiyosaki participated in the Vietnam War as a helicopter gunship pilot but chose to resign afterward, attaining a master’s degree before receiving an honorable discharge. Next, he decided to try working as a businessman, an occupation that proved to be his ultimate calling.
After working as a sales associate for several years, Kiyosaki learned about Erhart Seminars Training, a program that claimed to change people’s lives. He claims that the things he learned there changed his life, and his actions from that point onward were different from before. Kiyosaki started two companies that dealt in niche goods one after another, but both eventually went bankrupt. Nevertheless, the experience of managing a company was educational for him, and so he decided to found a business school along with several other people. The endeavor succeeded, and the company began earning money, eventually allowing Kiyosaki some time for other enterprises.
The man reflected on his past, where his college education did not contribute significantly to his ultimate occupation. He put these thoughts into his first book, If You Want to Be Rich and Happy, Don’t Go to School. In it, he advised parents to avoid sending children to college, helping them enter the real estate business instead. He reasoned that traditional education systems harmed a person’s ability to think independently and adapt to changes.
Furthermore, he contended that educational facilities did not teach people how to become rich and fulfill the American Dream on purpose because of their disdain for the idea of money. Real estate, on the other hand, provided both ample learning opportunities and the chance for a person to become wealthy if they applied themselves well.
Following the success of the book, Kiyosaki wrote 25 others, most of which promoted similar ideas. Rich Dad, Poor Dad is particularly prominent, as in it, the author explores the mindset that leads people to succeed or fail financially regardless of their starting position, wealth, and education. Kiyosaki claims that most of the population considers wealth too troublesome and so invents reasons to reject the idea of becoming wealthy (148).
Along with the books, he has expanded his business education enterprise and his real estate operations, though he has sold his original company. He now owns thousands of apartments and apartment houses as well as a franchising business for seminars based on his philosophy. Kiyosaki is also involved with many other companies, most of which operate in the information technology industry.
The businessman sometimes receives criticism due to some faults in his books that he never addressed as well as possibly unsavory business practices in the past. Nevertheless, his approach to business and wealth is widespread, and he is highly wealthy, with an estimated net worth of $80 million. Robert Kiyosaki is an example of a man who found his calling and reached success despite starting in the wrong direction and spending years in occupations he did not enjoy. As such, he deserves admiration and interest as a leader who has created successful businesses and introduced a compelling narrative into the lives of many people.
Work Cited
Kiyosaki, Robert T. Rich Dad Poor Dad. Plata Publishing, 2011.
The human mind and character always seem to be stimulated by various events and actions, therefore, leading to the adaptations of the different analogies in life. These aspects in life are applied in art and design to furnish and give relevant imaginative direction, so that someone might see the piece of work.
Works of art and design do possess their own virtue and properties, which may be given different interpretations by people as each do portray various form of descriptions with essentially unchanging qualities, but they are subject to substantial number of ‘true’, authoritative and ‘irrefutable’ opinions.
It also states that it can mean what any one wants it to be by giving it no decisive independence or veracity as art can be derived from, dance, painting, photography, sculpture, architecture, music, cinema, drawing, theater, literature and printmaking (Sporre, 2009).
The different disciplines of art can also be used to define humanity with religion and history being a factor, with science and technology embracing the entirety of the human nature and hindering its raw creativity blossoming, an insistence for us to depart from this enslavement and instead use it to complement humanities as Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo did. In this regard, we are going to look at the origin of some two historical art periods and the impact they have made to the world of art (Janaro and Altshuler, 2009).
Firstly, we are going to look at Renaissance, which is a French word that means ‘rebirth’ and is regarded to be the beginning of modern history as it commenced around 14th to the 17th century. Its impact was felt in most of the Northern Italian cities with the passion for art flourishing and its knowledge being spread to the greater Europe and Middle East. This trade not only led to the exchange of goods, but also to the preservation of writings of the ancient Greeks by the Arab scholars.
Together with the ideas exchanged, it served as the basis of the Renaissance as many Christian scholars were leaving Greece for Italy with the fall of the Byzantine empire to the Muslim Turks in 1453. Although the association of Renaissance to Italy is of great importance, it has eclipsed the enhancement of new ideas in northern Europe, the Iberian Peninsula, the Islamic world, Southeast Asia, and Africa as Renaissance was a remarkably international, fluid and mobile incidence (Brotton, 2006).
The Renaissance period saw the Graeco-Roman culture transforming art, politics and the society at large as now Art was acknowledged therefore inspiring human inventions and defining the modern world. Renaissance has also been used to define a point of time in history that Europe was asserting its power and authority in most of the continents.
The 15th and 16th centuries saw the use and development of perception from an experimental technique to play a role in the daily life of every artist’s education with the rise and demand of architectural developments.
The arches of Gothic cathedrals became a landscape with its paintings and buildings with virgin of the rocks by da Vinci and other medieval paintings such as the Wilton Diptych both of which are in the National Gallery in London revolutionized art in the Renaissance era. This period in history also revived and preserved the classical era antiquities with the rediscovery of literature, sculpture and architecture from ancient Greece and Rome.
The origin of modern physics and astronomy also started in this period as Copernicus contended for a heliocentric clarification of the planet movements and this played a big role for Newton’s explanation of gravity 200 years later. In middle ages and Renaissance, theoretical and practical geometry was about measurement by instruments and ‘’by art’’ therefore geometry being relevant to artists who were charged with composing inventions and executing them materially.
The renaissance artists gave us the first remarkable pictures of the world in which we live in and are considered the best and geniuses with depictions in the modern day artist’s work. Renaissance therefore gave birth while preserving the ideas and inventions that marked different moments in history while adjustments being applied to it where necessary.
The second historical period that we are going to look at is Realism which is a period between 1830 to 1870. Derived from the word real, Realism is the actual presentation of objects, actions or social conditions and it can be said to have inspired philosophy, science, art and literature with its impact being felt in major European countries. In France, it saw the union of artists such as the ‘Realists’ coming together to paint nature as it really appears, citing the scenery of nature as their main inspiration for art.
Realism also establishes itself as a way of thought than a movement within a specific genre with its main principles rejecting classicism and romanticism as fallacies of art asit does not focus on individuals of middle and lower classes who have common problems and obstacles which everyone can associate with. Due to this fact, literary writing has a distinction between realism and actual everyday reality, as realist novels do not give the slightest reality of life as its form and representation.
Realism as a form is uninfluenced by classical confluences as it participates in the modern impulse of modernity with a great impact being seen in film and media with reality shows such as Big Brother and Survivor, said to be an experience of ‘real’ visual representations.
This makes realism a relationship between media texts and the viewers. Pier Paolo Pasolini can arguably be said to have inspired modern day cinema with films such as Accattone, The Canterbury Tales, Medea, Salo among many more continue to challenge and still entertain new generations of moviegoers as his work was drawn from art, literature, folklore and music (Maurizio, 1993).
He also did not contaminate the purity of theoretical linguistic unit as he removed it from its canonical sites. All in all, Realism touches on every essence of the human life and environment and it cannot be ignored in our daily lives.
References
Brotton, J. (2006). The Renaissance: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.
Janaro, R. P., & Altshuler, T. C. (2009). The Art of Being Human (9th Ed.). New York: Pearson Education. ISBN-13, 9780205605422.
Maurizio S. V. (1993). A Certain Realism: Making Use of Pasolini’s Film Theory and Practice. London: University of California Press. ISBN.0520078551, 9780520078550.
Sporre, D. J. (2009). Perceiving The Arts: An Introduction to the Humanities (9th Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN-13: 978-0136045694.
With the passage of time, people develop interesting and sophisticated means of expression. Traditional art and photography has slowly given way to unorthodox approaches, and the definition of art itself can be highly contended. With the use of the online sphere, the development and growth of art has further expanded, using existing media, computer programs and unique tools to impress and captivate other people. One of the interesting trends of the recent years, which is deeply connected with the online sphere, is the change in internet culture and humor. The recently-emerging trend is the attempt to embrace post-irony and intentionally low quality as inherent part of humor. The memes of the recent times increasingly use their platform to lambast and make fun of existing properties and the culture of the past. The use of excessive editing and visual filter is an especially prominent part, as they serve to highlight the absurdity of contemporary internet culture. During my quest for inspiration, I have pondered on the artistic value and qualities of the so-called “deep-fried memes” and their contribution to the modern culture. I think that the intentional use of noisy imagery, distortion and editing filters creates a unique space of expression that further makes one question the purpose and definition of art itself. While I am currently unable to fully capture the spirit and qualities of absurd contemporary humour, I attempted to see how the excessive use of filters can influence an simple image.
I have not been able to identify the author of this image, as they freely distributed on the internet. Using this particular picture, I have tried to edit the saturation, color levels and other variables of a photograph of the sky until I managed to create something similar.
I think that the feel of the image I created is rather similar to the one presented above, as they both use contrasting colors and low visibility to create a mix of unease and confusion in the viewer.
The inspiration from the works of the Italian Renaissance artist such as Leonardo and Botticelli brought the idea of works that can fit within the same context. The idea was supplemented with new elements which are combining works that are represented on different mediums to create a certain context. In that sense, I would like to thank each of the following galleries, museums, and individuals for their kind support in providing the works for the time of the gallery:
The government of France and the Louvre Museum.
Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
Iona Rozeal Brown.
Kara Walker
Saatchi Gallery
Hirshhorn Museum and sculpture garden
Emotions between Inspiration and Presentation
It was always interesting to ling the inspiration of an artwork and the way it was represented. In that sense the gallery is attempting to establish such a link by titling the works in such manner. In that way a general context can be observed through the artist’s inspiration. Taking the work of Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli, where the inspiration might be stated as Poliziano’s poem of the Giostra, (“Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli”) and the representation can be stated as grace, thus the title within the gallery will be poetry and grace. Accordingly, the rest of the artworks will be titled in such manner giving the exhibition a mutual context, where the emotions of the visitors should differ according to the established title. Looking at another exhibit, Memory of My Youth in the mountains by Joseph Beuys, the inspiration is self-explanatory from the title, whereas the representation can be summarized as stone, resulting in a new title the memory of a stone.
In that sense, it can be seen that the emotions can be changed observing, for example, Andy Warhol’s commercial self-portrait within the context of monitorial pop culture, and Untitled by Wangechi Mutu within the context of disjoint Africa and glamour fashion(“Untitled by Wangechi Mutu”) Such implementation unites works from different epochs and different styles within a single frame outlining how each artists’ inspiration was translated into the representation of the work using different types of artistic works, different styles, and different materials.
The exhibition is an attempt to look at familiar works by popular artists from a different perspective. With the main emphasis that art is first of all a matter of an idea that uses different forms for aesthetic delivery.
Works of Art
Artist: Leonardo da Vinci
Title of Work: Mona Lisa
Year: 1503-1506
Medium: Oil on poplar wood
Location: Louvre Museum
Artist: Sandro Botticelli
Title of work: The birth of venus
Year: 1482
Medium: Oil on canvas
Location: Uffizi Gallery in Florence
Artist: Iona Rezeal Brown
Title: a3 blackface #62
Year: 2004
Medium: acrylic on paper
Location: Courtesy of the artist
Artist: Kara Walker
Title: Untitled
Year: 1996
Medium: Gouache, paper collage on wood panels Location: Courtesy of the author
Artist: Wangechi Mutu
Title:Untitled
Year: 2003
Medium: Mixed media on mylar
Location: Saatchi Gallery
Artist: Any Warhol
Title: Self Portrait
Year: 1986
Location: Hirshhorn Museum and sculpture garden
Medium: Acrylic and silkscreen on canvas
Location: Courtesy of Mrs. Vera G.
Artist: Mona Hatoum
Title: Entrails Carpet
Year: 1995
Medium: silicone rubber
Artist: Willem de Kooning
Title: Woman/Verso: Untitled
Year: 1965
Medium: Oil and enamel on fiberboard
Location: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Artist: Joseph Beuys
Title: Memory of My Youth in the mountains
Year: 1977
Location: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
Medium: Tallow, wax, wood, metal, oil, and carpenter’s rule
Art has never been an exact science, and there is still no formula for awakening the stream of creative thoughts. However, at all times, the artists have had a reliable and inexhaustible source of inspiration, which is a Woman. A female image is a central issue of all fields of art, including literature, painting and sculpture, theatre and cinema. The pages of every artist’s biography tell us about tumultuous feelings and incredible love stories. An author may keep his muse in bondage or pamper and cherish, or even admire her distantly like desperate Don Quixote admires his Dulcinea. It would be rather interesting to disassemble the mechanism of inspiration and to find its essence: what does the muse give to the genius, and is there any ideal relationship for the inspiration?
Main text
Helena Diakonoff, a woman from the bank of the Russian river Volga, became the only person who managed to make Salvador Dali say, “I love Gala more than my mother, more than my father, more than Picasso and even more than money” (Descharnes and Neret, 1992, p. 25). She was ten years older than her Salvador and was able to conquer any man in her environment. This woman’s face always expressed decisiveness and passion; she had shining black eyes, small mouth, and long black hair. Gala enjoyed her life, and the only thing she seemed to be interested at was the pleasure for her heart and body, as well as money and luxury.
Having become a mother or at least an elder friend for young Salvador who was odd and infantile, Gala captured both his heart and his soul. They seemed to be two halves of a unity: Diakonoff’s essence needed a genius, and she was looking for him among the artists around her; Salvador’s nature required a cult figure, having chosen a Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca, then an avant-garde director Luis Bonuel, and finally, his divine Gala. An artist and his muse had lived together for 53 years. They often seemed to torment each other; probably, this was the price for their incredible passion and breathtaking happy moments.
However, while Dali was expressing his admiration to Gala by means of depicting her eyes in all his pictures, his “colleague” Pablo Picasso also maintained his inspiration with the help of numerous love relationships. Picasso seemed to be able to get inflamed from a single gesture or an elusive sign. Sitting in the café, the artist saw a charming black-haired woman playing with a sharp knife; suddenly a woman made a wrong movement – and blood appeared on her hand. This view astonished Picasso, and he saved the woman’s glove in his cupboard for a long time; as for the woman, whose name was Dora Maar, she became his muse (Life, 75).
It is impossible not to recollect the “love theory” of a French author Roland Barthes, a specialist in semiotics, who considered a love at first sight to be one’s reaction on a certain “sign”, which can be a gesture, a sentence, or anything else (Barthes, 1979, p. 188). Thus, Picasso managed to catch his future muse’s accidental sign from the first sight.
Other Picasso’s love stories were also rather dynamic and often started with an accidental meeting or a glance, or a word. At the same time, they brought serious changes into his artistic life: when he met Fernande Olivier, his prevailing colours became pink and light blue instead of dark blue; Marcelle Humbert made his paintings vivacious and optimistic; Jacqueline Roque became Picasso’s muse when he was seventy years old and inspired the new wave of his mature works (Life, 68-80). However, his relationships were exhausting and magnetic: after his death, many of his beloved women committed self-murder or went mad, or entered the monastery. It looks like the energy of these women fed the artist and helped him to create more than fifty thousand works.
The history knows several cases when the relationship between an artist and his muse led to the disaster. The famous French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was inspired by his wife Consuelo. In fact, it was her whom he embodied in the character of a coquettish Rose in his The Little Prince. Once Consuelo found a batch of his husband’s passionate letters to a mysterious Rose in his pocket; this discovery broke their family happiness and gradually led to Consuelo’s madness and the writer’s death. The letters turned out to be Exupéry’s drafts for the future The Little Prince.
Thus, it is impossible to generalize the way the relationship between an artist and his muse may evolve: either mutual enrichment, like in case with Dali and Gala, or one-sided energy “nutrition”, like between Picasso and his women, or even mutual destruction similar to Exupéry and Consuelo’s story. The incredible diversity of the relationship “schemes” between a genius and his muse leads to a following idea: in the image of his woman an artist finds what he needs himself. A woman may be fragile or in flesh, thoughtful or flippant … The only thing that seems to matter is the magical image which tells the genius something new about this world and makes him express the discovery in his work of art.
Conclusion
This reminds about a two thousand year-old fascinating idea expressed by Plato in his Symposium: he explains that the aim of love is perpetual obtaining, which implies that in order to obtain eternity, one has to exist forever (Plato, 2001). This makes people incarnate themselves in their children, the memory of their deeds, and the immortal works of art. By means of a slight gesture, a word, or a silhouette’s winding, the muse makes a silent promise for enriching the artist’s life with something he needs in order to rich his goal of immortality. Being perceptible to any slight nuance, an artist bursts out into the streams of new ideas and embodies them in his works, depicting his muse standing in the suit of an ancient goddess or looking at the viewer from a picture with an unpretentious name “Portrait of My Wife”.
References
Anon (1968) Picasso: his women. Life, 27, 64-90.
Barthes, R. (1979) A lover’s discourse: fragments. London, Cape.
Descharnes R, and Neret, G. (1992) Salvador Dali: 1904-1989. Köln, Benedikt Taschen.
Plato et al. (2001) Plato’s Symposium. Chicago, University of Chicago Press.
Edvard Munch was a painter who is considered among the most influential individuals in the development of expressionism in art. His art bears a distinctive imprint of psychological anguish and often resorts to the controversial themes related to sexuality, illness, and the origins of the supernatural. Partially traced back to certain details of his biography, these elements of Munch’s art paved the way for German expressionism and surrealism.
Inspirations from Personal Life
During his early years, Munch frequently witnessed severe illnesses and life-threatening conditions. In at least two cases, this resulted in the deaths of the embers of his family – his mother and sister (“Edvard Munch”). The perpetual anxiety and pressing threat of tragic events was enhanced by the interpretation offered by his father, who considered both deaths an act of divine punishment. The combined effect of these factors can be detected in the majority of the artist’s works that often depict suffering and anxiety caused by the vulnerability.
Another important influence on the artist’s life that is reflected in his artwork is his views on human sexuality. Munch was interested in finding freedom from the social conformity and considered sex one of the elements that contribute to the emotional and social liberation of the individual. It must also be acknowledged that the beginning of the twentieth century is regarded as a turning point in the paradigm of human sexuality and its connection to psychology. This paradigm shift inevitably found its way into the art domain and was definitely among the factors that shaped Munch’s perception of sexual experience as a manifestation of subliminal psychological effects.
Finally, it must be acknowledged that the works from the later period of his career are noticeably more cheerful and optimistic than the dark and unsettling earlier works. This change in tone and mood correlates with the artist’s return to his hometown in Norway, where he remained until his death (“Edvard Munch and his Paintings”).
Artistic Approach
Generally speaking, the approach chosen by Munch is consistent with the symbolism. The overwhelming majority of the artworks, both from the early and the late period of his career emphasize the internal characteristics of the depicted objects rather than their apparent external representation. Thus, the emotional and idealistic nature of things is prioritized over their physical properties. In early Munch’s works, the emphasis is usually on psychological unrest and anxiety, often related to a physical illness. The piece that is both well-known and highly representative of the described characteristics is Scream (1893). The depicted setting is highly suggestive of the abnormal psychological state of the subject and is commonly believed to describe the artist’s experience of visiting his sister in the mental hospital. Another important piece, Sick Child (1885), addresses the theme of illness and loss more directly, through the depiction of a scene at the bedside of the girl who is apparently in the grave physical state. The painting bears a clear reference to Munch’s sister who died at an early age. Finally, confusion and frustration are common themes in his works, which is most prominently featured in Puberty (1894) – the portrait of a naked girl who casts a deep and threatening shadow.
Conclusion
Munch’s artworks of the early period are clearly influenced by the events of his personal life. The illness, death, and, by extension, the feelings of restlessness and vulnerability set the tone for most of his works and influence both the overall presentation and the thematic choices. I believe that the most significant takeaway from the research paper is the interconnection between the subliminal and the evident influences. I think that while it is unclear whether these inspirations were conscious, it is necessary to be aware of them to fully understand the work of art.
Works Cited
“Edvard Munch.” The Art Story, n.d., Web.
“Edvard Munch and his Paintings.” Edvardmunch.org, n.d., Web.
Art is a unique phenomenon that emerged at the dawn of civilization. People’s inborn desire to reflect their feelings and emotions and embody some events of their lives cultivated the appearance of numerous forms of creativity. As a result, it became one of the fundamentals of human society. One unique aspect of art is that it continues to evolve and never stops developing. The aesthetics and experience of art inspire modern artists and impact the emergence of new works created under the influence of past works (An & Youn, 2019). As a result, artists use their lenses to create new pieces and make them an essential part of the cultural heritage.
Discussion
The inspirational power of art can be demonstrated by using real-life examples. For instance, the image Rust Red Hills by Georgia O’Keeffe is an outstanding masterpiece made with oil on canvas.
Image 1. Rust Red Hills
The painting was created in 1930 in the American West. The painter wanted to find peace and new feelings after the years spent in New York (Jacobus & Marin, 2019). As a result, she created a peaceful and beautiful image of hills near her home in Abiquiu, New Mexico (Jacobus & Marin, 2019). This piece of art is full of red color, variations, and shades of brown, pink, and orange. However, this combination looks peaceful and gives the feeling of calmness and inner harmony. It is far from civilization and the noise and stress of big cities.
Looking at this perfect artwork, I was inspired by the combination of red and orange shapes, the dominant emotions, and the overall impression left by the masterpiece. As a result, I created my own work called Peaceful Sunset.
Image 2. Peaceful Sunset
The image emerged after looking at Georgia O’Keeffe’s artwork and remembering my own experience. I used watercolor and paper to create this piece. It is an isolated lake far from civilization and big crowds. Feeling the need to be alone and recover, I visited the place until sunset and viewed a beautiful image of the sun reflecting in the water. The colors were close to red, and I have always remembered this image as the idea of peace, the beauty of nature, and calmness.
Comparing the two pieces, I think there are many similar things between them, and they are connected. Both works depict nature’s beauty, meaning they have the same theme. There is also a certain similarity in colors, as I was inspired by O’Keeffe’s work and her vision of hills. The medium is identical, although I used watercolor instead of oil and canvas. Paintings help to show the brightness of the real world and colors existing in the nature. The works describe different landscapes, and the style is not the same. However, I assume both artworks are united by the desire to depict the world far from civilization and noisy megapolises. For this reason, there are some similar elements of design, such as colors, exposition, and focus on the elements of nature.
Conclusion
Altogether, comparing the two works, it is possible to admit the high inspirational power of art. Being an ancient form of expressing feelings and emotions, it continues to evolve and change. Old forms are replaced by new ones; however, the artists’ ideas that can be seen in their masterpieces continue to inspire people and spark interest in art and creativity. As a result, numerous individuals can look at images from the past and find something essential for them. It is one of the critical components of true art.
References
An, D., & Youn, N. (2019). The inspirational power of arts on creativity. Journal of Business Research, 85, 467-475.
Jacobus, L., & Marin, D. (2019). The humanities through the arts (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.
Gone with the Wind is a captivating love story that is set in the civil war era in America, which is a re-enactment of a literal work by the same name. It is based on a novel by Margaret Mitchell, which was transformed into a block buster movie in the World War II epoch, courtesy of Selznick’s meticulous interpretation and impeccable casting.
Incidentally, Selznick managed to turn the slightly over one thousand page novel, into a two hundred minute delightful epic film, that has hitherto been tirelessly watched by various audiences, over myriad times all over the world.
The movie revolves around scarlet O’Hara, who is the daughter of a mogul by the name of Gerald O’Hara, the custodian of cotton plantation. Scarlet is depicted to be in a clandestine relationship with Ashley Wilkes, who is also a plantation owner in the same area, but the affair is complicated by virtue of Ashley being in a formal relationship with Melanie.
The events take place at Twelve Oaks, which is the name of the plantation where the engagement of Ashley to Melanie is to be announced, during a party at the Wilkes residence. Seemingly, during the party a gentleman by the name of Rhett Butler, notices Scarlet and is smitten with her but is perceived to be impulsive by everyone, due to his controversial stand on the war.
As everyone takes an afternoon nap after the partying, Scarlet secretly meets Ashley in the library but their intimate conversation is overheard by Rhett, but he promises Scarlet to keep their affair a secret.
In the course of their conversation, the start of the war is announced and all the men enlist for the war, including Charles who is Ashley’s brother. Charles proposes to Scarlett despite Scarlett not loving him before he goes out to war, but dies of pneumonia in the battle field. Rhett eventually makes attempts to win Scarlet’s heart but fails, especially after Melanie’s death and her wish of Scarlet to take care of Ashley.
Open house is a horror movie that features Adrienne Barbeau and Joseph Bottoms, as the main cast members of the 1987 film. It is a typical grizzly film that involves a lot of blood spill, which pivots around the real estate market. Murders take place in homes, where buyers of property go to view houses they intend to purchase.
For the most part, the victims are the real estate agents who are targeted by the murderous maniac, who has the nerve to call a local radio station that is hosted by a psychologist.
The movie in its first scenes showcases a body that is grossly decomposing, with worms crawling out of it and the real estate agent in the bathroom where the corpse is situated, shouting her voice hoarse on with terror. This scene sets precedence for more killings and nudity.
Furthermore, Barbeau’ s character in the movie is contrasted with that of a rotund and chauvinist real estate agent, who litters houses with dog food to attract insects, so that he can put off potential clients and fetch lower prices for the houses. The impetus for murder in the movie is the desire to stop clients from purchasing houses.
In the end the maniac is finally killed, bringing a halt to the spate of murders. The police are finally relieved when they catch up with the psychotic killer, bringing an end to the panic by the public. The movie according to critics is seen to be an overrated film, with limited blood spill and a wanting script, not to mention the bad editing. Open house can make a good movie for entertainment on a weekend, although like all horror films it is only tailored for an adult audience.
Life as a house is a 2001 movie that stars Kevin Klein, depicted as a man who decides to build his dream house once he finds out that he is terminally ill. Ironically, the movie derives its name from the house, which is seen to adequately spell out Klein’s life long ambition. Additionally, he also strives to fix his relationship with his ex- wife and son.
Klein seeks to get help from his son whose life is full of clutter, to help him build his dream house. Seemingly, the movie tells the story of an affluent family and a man who is going through what can be best termed as a midlife crisis.
The movie is seen to strike a chord with the general audience, because it candidly illustrates what the typical American family goes through. A messy divorce whose aftermath is a son who is wayward.
Klein is portrayed as a father whose career as an architect and marriage seem to have gone haywire, and has to contend with the bad news about his demise that is just a few months away. He struggles to make a bold statement about his dented image by building his dream house, and patching up things with his ex- wife.
This movie arguably emphasizes the role of a patriarch in the American society, and gives the audience inspiration and hope. The movie features some romance and action, but it is a film that is easy to follow with a simple and understandable plot. It gives life to the saying; there is light at the end of the tunnel.
A departure from the conventional action movies that Hollywood produces, enabled this movie receive an Audience-Award in the Aspen –Filmfest of 2001.
