Where is the Land of Endless Possibilities?

                           (Part 1)

No, it is not the USA!
Columbus did miss it by then…
It is India!

I have just been there again. 
This time I was in the South. 
Don’t leave! I am not going to tire you
with a travel report,
but to share with you some of my personal impressions:

Talking about the Indian way of
“Endless Possibilities”,

here are some examples:

In spite of the typical image of misery,
we, the people from the western world have,
Indian village people do not look sad.
They smile a lot, and are very friendly.
They like to communicate.
They ask you to take their picture
and invite you to their homes.
They are curious about the tourists

the same way we are curious about them!

This is enough for now, because 

                                           Valentine’s Day
                                            is approaching!

                               I have launched a special SALE.
                                Look for the section

                                VALENTINES DAY SALE
                                  In my shop 



Here is a sample:

Until next my post - I'll meet you at my shop.

Enjoy


Vita

Is it “Wow” or “Yuck”?

(About Kitsch in Art)

Post no. 1

Valentine’s Day is an appropriate  excuse  to talk about
Kitsch, since its images are well-known clichés.

The term Kitsch (German in origin), refers to a mass-produced art
or design,and  is used to describe gaudy objects, which are considered to have popular appeal.

 Its historical origins go back to the recently unified Germany,

 i.e. to the 1870s. Kitsch described objects and a way  of  life ,
which were the result of the vast urbanization and the mass-
production due to the industrial revolution.
From its very beginning, it was more popular and more consumed than
classical Art.
From the very beginning, and in spite of its popularity, Kitsch had
negative connotations, and  was considered “low” and “bad” art.

We can identify three main  characteristics  in a Kitschy object:

 1.       The subject-matter is highly emotionally  charged  and appealing.

How can one be indifferent in front of a baby, a child
(especially if he cries…) a sad clown, or a cute pet?

• 

          

2.    Kitsch is based on deeply rooted and widely recognized conventions and icons

       of its time:Kiss, heart = love. Eifel tower=Paris and so on.

It is immediately understood by the viewer or the consumer.

3.   Its target is – amusement!  It is made for the hard-working and poorly-educated masses, seeking a relief from boredom and avoiding intellectual effort.

Kitsch is based on reality, but it optimizes and beautifies it. 

    

       

       

In the beginning of the 20^th century, the elitist  Avant Garde

movements , developed a repulsive and patronizing attitude towards

Kitsch. “Low” and “bad” Art was driven out of the museums.

But not for long.

Gradually, artists assimilated the esthetics of mass production, first

in Europe, and towards the mid-century, mainly  in the United States.

The American Pop-Art embraced popular and Kitschy images, and used

Mass-production  techniques.

       Roy Lichtenstein, A kiss, 1962


       



       Claes Oldenburg, Floor Burger ( Giant Hamburger), 1962.

The artists described urban and suburban popular culture, but by taking

 this “low art” out of its original context,they turned it into symbols,

 with wider meaning.

Low Art re-entered the museums in the guise of symbols…

 R. Hamilton ,

Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?

collage, 1956.

      

      Andy Warhol,  Marilyn Monroe 1962.

This is all for today.

The Kitsch story will continue in my next post.

What is your favorite  photo in this post? 

Leave your comment below.

Vita

Pinterest

Why Red? (VALENTINES) no.2

 

Today I am serious!

As my interest and knowledge is Modern Art, I would like to share with you the enormous change of attitude towards colors in general,  and towards red in particular, since the  modern era, around the 19^th century,(as Valentine’s Day is approaching).

Jacuques Louis David, Napoleon at the St. Bernard Pass, 1801. 

This Neo-Classic painting representsthe classical attitude towards colorsince ancient time:Paint used to be a narrative vehiclein the work of art.Red, being an “extrovert” color,was used to highlight figures of prominent status,such as religious figures, political,military and social figures of high-status.In this painting, Napoleon has a red cloak,functioning as a  halo.

Red  has dual  symbolism: Holiness, courage,energy,  self-sacrifice,daring, passionate love,life, blooming.

Ahmed Taher: Red color theme

                                   

 But also –

death, war,  blood, struggle, danger, fire, aggression.                 

                                             ____   ____   ____  
               

Two major processes paved the way for the amazing change 0f attitude towards color: Art was liberated from the “tyranny”of narrative.(Napoleon’simagewasordered from the painter David.)
Artists no longer depended on patronage,  and were not committed  to express  a specific  agenda. They could freely express their own ideas  and feelings, like exploring paint for instance ... 

 

 

 

 

 

Colors as physical phenomena and later as perceptual phenomena        

(i.e. how we see colors, and the mutual effects of their combinations),
and as a psychologicalphenomena (i.e. the mental effects of colors) . 

     Mark Rothko, Orange Red Orange,circa 1962.

Mark Rothko, Mauve and Orange, 1961.

 

 

                    M.Rothko, Untilled (Red, Orange),1968.                                                                              

                                                                         

Rothko,the American Abstract-Expressionist,represents here the artists who saw in color itself the  subject of the painting.When we meditate before his “floating”colored rectangulars, we ask  ourselves not what it is all about,but how it is  affecting us, and what mood it expresses. 

                                                       ___   ___   ___

 

But now – back to ground– back to Valentine's Day:

Red color is functioning in Valentive’s Day,in its historical symbolism: passionate love, desire, energy.

Maybe we are also so attracted to red because of this dual meaning.The negative aspects intensifies our sense of  vitality…

Do you find  Modern Art interesting?

Please share in the comments  here below

Thank you,

Vita