Postmodern Art, for me, was difficult to fully grasp and put into words, but here’s my swing at it nonetheless. I think that being the art of today, having started in the 1960s, it’s conceptual and meant to be analyzed as what it stands for, not what it looks like. Unlike Modernism’s clear statement, Postmodern Art strives to challenge the viewer with a wide array of questions and/or to have them relate to the piece somehow. Many Postmodern works focus on stereotyping politics, picketing and controversy. I feel the viewer should have some sort of an education in order to fully appreciate the work.

Feminist Art or Feminism is considered Post Modern because it’s so controversial. A lot of it has to do with how we look at women (due to the media) compared to reality (how we really look). In other words, how we see ourselves compared to how we perceive art. It was also a major component to Postmodernism.

Contemporary American photographer, Cindy Sherman’s photographs definitely categorize her as Post Modern. What I think most classifies her as Post Modern is the fact that she uses herself as the subject in her photographs. The way I look at it, “If you want something done right, you’ve gotta do it yourself”. She tests not only herself, but her audience. She challenges herself in that she plays a completely different character symbolizing a certain class or role in each photograph. She tests her audiences to connect what they see to experiences or to make references.

For my final Drawing II project, I thought I would go with a 3 piece composition. I’ve done a 1, 2 and even 4 so I thought I’d try something a tad new. In order to stick with my concept, I went to the library and interviewed a stranger on each floor…upper, middle, and lower. I plan to have 3 horizontal-rectangular pieces placed one above the other as to symbolize the levels in which I found them at the library. The artist that I found Ray Barkus, relates more to my form. His current piece is a 3 series drawing on identity. I feel that my works will focus mainly identity seeing as that’s my strongest idea. Barkus is using identity by meticulously copying versions of important documents and other objects that should not be copied (passports, credit cards, currency, etc…). He is combining the practices of medieval monks with the practical jokes of some conceptual artists. Now that I think about it, I will be trying to modernize a well-known idea in my work, similar to Barkus.

a. In your own words how would you describe Formalism?

Formalistic work to me, is non-objectionable and abstract. Its main compositional emphasis lies in the way it’s made, its purely visual aspects, and its medium. A Formalistic work is composed of the basic elements: color, line, composition, and texture. These elements constitute the fundamental language of the piece itself. I don’t see there being any ulterior thoughts behind the work, what you see is what you get.

b. Kandinsky, Mondrian and Malevich are all considered to be early Modern Abstractionists. After looking at their art, which artist do you think best fits into your own definition of Formalism and why.

I can really appreciate the way Kandinsky uses color and what seems to be lack of negative space in his works because I feel I tend to do work the under the same guidelines. Kandinsky’s pieces really push the limits of abstraction to their maximum capacity. Compared to realism, I feel as if abstract art is more enjoyable to create. Even though Mondrian and Malevich are both Formalistic artists, I, personally, would rather observe/create art that displayed more freehand and intentional, yet purposeful marks rather than that of the geometric persuasion.

c. Pick one of the aforementioned artists and discuss how their artwork fits into Formalism.

With direct and obvious emphasis on the basic elements of Formalism such as line, color, and composition, Piet Mondrian’s work would probably best represent Formalism. Although I’m not partial to his work, his style almost directly fits what formalist art critics use to examine and analyze works of Formalistic art.

d. Find an artist on The Drawing Center’s Viewing Progam web site that relates to your drawing for this project. How does their art relate to your concept, subject and style?

Travis LeRoy Southwork’s art, as mine, is conceptually driven. I based my candle wax drip art on how much time I waste during the day waiting for the clock to hit an interval of a 5 or 0 in order for me to be productive. Southwork’s art has a minimalist bend to it as they tend to use a limited amount of materials.

a. What is the difference between Expressionism and Cognitivism? To answer this question you must define each word first.

Expressionism is a form of art in which the artist relies mainly on emotion, experiences and a series of what are usually abstract marks to convey their message. Although realistic art can be impressive based upon how close to the real thing the piece of art is, I have always enjoyed works of expressionism more mainly because I love how free spirited and interesting the works seem to be.

Cognitivism, on the other hand, is art that passes on knowledge to its viewers, teaching them in other words. The artists feel that this is the only effective way of presenting this type of information. The information doesn’t have to be profound by any means, just something the artist feels their audience can benefit from learning.

The difference between expressionism and cognitivism is slight, but definite. Expressionism  focuses on making an emotional impact through  the piece while cognitivism informs the audience or helps alter our understanding of a subject.

Tolstoy believes that art should transmit feeling to its audience upon viewing. The way I understood Tolstoy was that he thinks that expression of emotion in a work of art is not sufficient to make the work good, therefore; the execution has to be successful also. I think it’s really interesting that Tolstoy wants the work of art to express the religious and moral attitudes of the day because usually, I wouldn’t know what kind of day that artist was having based upon the piece unless I was told…

I’m glad to read that Collingwood feels the viewer of his pieces play an important roll in the overall work. He wants the viewer to look at his work and to use their imagination to somehow come up with some sort of connection to what they’re looking at. I feel that Collingwood isn’t pleased with being the kind of artist that makes something, displays it and is finished. He wants more…and when I say more, I mean that he wants more of an understanding and feeling of respect from the viewer, because of what he has created.

d. Discuss the use of metaphor in Louis Bourgeois and Kiki Smith’s art. 

Louis and Bourgeosis and Kiki Smith both implement the use of metaphor into their creations in various ways.

Bourgeosis seems to prefer working with tangible objects and materials to convey her feelings towards the relationship she had with her father and the relationship her father had with her mother when she was a child. Her works are quite abstract and large, but more so give off sort of a dark and creepy, Edgar Allen Poe effect. The way she delt and felt about her childhood is reflected, metaphorically, through her very picky choice of materials.

Smith, on the other hand, chose a different approach towards conveying metaphors through her works. She focuses on what seems to be the female body and all that entails. I’d like to say that she tries to get her viewers to understand more of what’s inside, of which we cannot see, than what’s on the outside and has become a normalcy to the eye. Rarely does she ever draw what she is trying to get across as what it is, she finds other situations and characters to portray it instead. In her drawings, her people aren’t always people. They may have a face along with legs and arms, but something is manipulated about them. I would suppose this is a way of helping the viewer to understand the meaning behind the work. In her In a Field work, I can’t help but wonder why she chose to have the woman’s backside actually be her front side.

Let me tell you, I had quite the time looking for an artist that related to what I hope to create. Her name is Betty Bastai. I feel that her art will relate to mine mostly through concept and style, but also a little bit through subject. She describes that she creates most of her pieces outside during the summer. What I hope to be able to do is also work on mine outside, in the warm weather near the object from my childhood that I want to present in my piece. In my drawing of the large, hollowed, lilac bush next to the home I grew up in as a child, I want the flowers of the lilacs to be more defined, and everything else to be somewhat of a blur, in the background. I definitely want the color of my lilacs to overshadow the objects I’ll show in the background. In more than one of her works, Bastai draws, abstractly, home structures and trees…a few things I wish to incorporate in my work also.

a. In your own words define realistic art.
 I feel that Realistic Art includes works that are recognizable upon viewing. The work may feel tangible or come close to that of a photograph. Any type of medium can be used to create realistic art, it just has to be proportionate, detailed and convincing.

 Plato defines good art as being beautiful and most everything that word entails such as: common properties, simplicity, unity, complexity, body, souls, practice and customs, knowledge, forms, etc…

c. What would Plato say about Koon’s artwork? (refer to Facebook FHSU Drawing 2A Discussion Board)

When going to an art museum, the goal of most of the artwork is to be understood without explanation. Aristotle, however, would not appreciate such a straight forward approach. He’d rather ponder in front of a piece and come up with the actual meaning or his interpretation on his own.

I don’t think obscene art is a contradiction of terms because these days, almost anything can be considered to be art. Art that tells a story or has a message usually adds to the beauty of the piece. What even furthers a a work is whether or not it conveys emotion.

f. Are vivid sexual images more obscene that vivid images of violence, poverty, display of extreme wealth or sickness?
Times have changed. Back in the day vivid sexual images may have been considered more obscene than vivid images of violence, poverty and displays of extreme wealth or sickness because of the level of conservativeness throughout the world, but with the media and all we have been exposed to today, it’s almost seeming to be the opposite, if not equal.

While looking through the artists on The Drawing Center’s Viewing Program Web Site, I came across Christy Zucareli when I searched under pastels and process. Christy’s art relates to my concept in that throughout my drawings, I am being expressive by ‘dwelling’ on past experiences and feelings. In her “Red” piece (featured below) and many of her others, she insists on including a border and using expressive markings instead of sketching out possibilities beforehand.