One Man's Dirt is Another Man's Treasure

Well in this case its a dog.....

I have a puppy (he'll be 2 years old in May) and well I consider him to be my baby.
Here's a picture of him as a baby:

I still look at this picture and think "awwwwwwwwwwwww. what a cute puppyyyyyyy."
Now he's grown into kind of a monster and is huge and bulky as he still thinks he's this size.

Now one of Tahoe's favorite things to do is eat stuff that he's not supposed to. (Typical dog right?) Yet when it comes down to it he's a complete baby. He believes that whatever we put in the trash is fair game for him because technically we do not want it anymore. Wouldn't that technically be true? He believes that we don't want anymore can now become his mid-day snack. His new thing to gloat about to the other dogs at the dog park. 

For instance, one day we came home and found this in our living room. He had taken all of his toys and torn the stuffing out of them. To us this was just a huge mess that was going to be a pain to clean up. To Tahoe it was his favorite animals all around him and he was able to play with them as much as he wanted. Could this be considered an art work to a dog? Did his tearing up of his favorite toys just so he could lie in them become his own art work? Many do believe so. The "dirt" that he had created in our living room turned out be an artwork for him as he fought us while we tried to clean it up. He was proud of his creation and did not want anyone to mess it up. 

If no one knew the truth most art could be considered "garbage" or "dirt". It doesn't take a trained eye to see that it can be right in front of you wherever you go. Also in the picture below, Tahoe loves his first christmas tree. To him this was art as well :)

Time to Get You Thinking

Ceci n'est pas une pipe.

Translated means "This is not a pipe."

When you first look at this photograph you think to yourself; "Crap! I don't understand French.". But if you're lucky enough to understand French you will realize that it translates to "This is not a pipe". Which is definitely confusing because that looks like a pipe to you so you start to look more closely at the art work. And you don't see anything different. You are finally so confused that you look up the art work on the internet.

The artist, Magritte, states that the painting is not a pipe but a IMAGE of a pipe. This was the point of the artist painting this on the bottom of her painting. She stated "The famous pipe. How people reproached me for it! And yet, could you stuff my pipe? No. It is just a representation, is it not? So if I had written on my picture 'This is a pipe,' I'd have been lying!" He entitled this painting Les Deux Mysteres which means The Treachery of Images. 

"The Treachery of Images" makes you think. It makes you think farther than just the actual photo. You have to think about it and actually dig into it to understand it.

As I....

My Personal Style

So you may wonder, "Marie! What kind of art do you like?". My response to this question is not an easy straightforward answer. There is so many different styles that I like and connect with.
This is the first assortment of photos:
I would call these bohemian, if anything..

Photoshop

Should Photoshop actually be considered as art?
It could be considered an art to create it and yes it does look really good when you're done (usually).
But is the outcome art and should it be allowed?

There is no definition of art so I'm going to state. Yes.
I do not think that companies should be allowed to edit photos of celebrities on their covers because of the fact that there are others who look up to them and it could be detrimental to them.

If you are trying to cover up a pimple or fix a weird looking eye, I believe that that should be okay. But then the problem is, where do you draw the line?

For instance: picture 2 is over board. If a woman uploaded the photo on the right to eharmony.com and then the guy runs away from her when they meet in person. She will be crushed. They shouldnt even allow anyone to do this to people, other than fun. And not post it anywhere for anyone to see who wouldnt find it funny either.
There are so many ways that you could draw the line but photoshop can be used in so many good ways. For instance: the Rhein photograph I posted in September, nothing bad came out of those photos. But you then have to realize that all he did was crop out some dog walkers and factory buildings. He didnt improve womens bodies to fool the minds of everyone looking at the photos.


The line is for you to draw.

My Favorite Artwork

My Favorite Artwork

This is by far my favorite artwork of all time.

(I even have a pair of leggings with this design on them.)

The Great Wave was created by Katsushika Hokusai. 

It is a wood block print that was created between 1830 and 1833. 

It was made in part of a series that he was working on entitled the "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji".

The Great Wave off Kanagawa soon became his most famous work and is the most recognized Japanese works of art in the whole world. 

If you look closely at the photo you can see that there are small ships (3) in the sea. 

It is depicting an enormous wave that threatens these ships near Kanagawa. 

The most common misunderstanding of this photo is thinking that the wave was part of a tsunami, in all reality is is just a large wave in the middle of the ocean, all in japanese 'okinami'.

The thing that is not commonly recognized in this photo is Mount Fuji in the background.

In the series, Mount Fuji is always in the background and the foreground depicts a certain condition.

Just a little knowledge session on my favorite piece of work.

<3 Marie

Graffiti-like Light Installation

When I came across this on the internet, I thought it would perfect for a blog post!
It is a Danish outdoor work of art by an artist named Armsrock. He has displayed graffiti-like installations of art at local train stations for nightly visitors. He names the series "Markinger".
The crazy thing about this (and what makes it so cool ) is that it was created by projecting unique engravings done with an etching needle.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

Television

Television can be considered an art that has been around since 1927. Although many inventors contributed to the creation of a television, Philo Farnsworth made the world's first working television system with electronic scanning of both the pickup and display devices. It was first demonstrated to the press on the 1st of September in 1928.

These pictures above demonstrate how televisions have evolved since 1927. They were originally a small little box with a huge back containing hundreds of wires and now we have gone to the thinest HD or 3D televisions. 

Everything that is displayed on television can be considered as an art work. The great part of it is that no matter how big or small, it can be considered art.

Picture 1: displays how the colors sent off of the television create a sense of mood in the room allowing the people in the room to feel a different way.

Pictures 2 and 3: are the same artwork. What they are doing is showing the evolution of artwork and how its come to be in a simple installation. 

Picture 4: is an installation art piece at the Sharjah International Biennial 2005. It shows screen caps from different TV channels from around the world all at once. 

Digital Editing in Photographs

Andreas Gursky's Rhein II

This is a Chromogenic Color Print created by Andreas Gursky. This is the largest photograph in a set of six photographs depicting the Rhein in Germany. Details such as dog-walkers and factory buildings were removed by the artist by digital editing. The reason he manipulated the photograph is:

"Paradoxically, this view of the Rhein cannot be obtained by sitting in front of it and looking out around you, a fictious construction was required to provide an accurate image of a modern river."

The image itself measures 73 in. x 143 in. and the frame is 81 in. x 151 in. It is mounted onto acrylic glass and was then placed in the frame. In 2011, the Rhein II was sold in New York $4.3 million making it the most expensive photograph ever sold.
If you have ever seen the Rhein in real life, it would be dark and gloomy because of the fact that Germany does not receive much sun-light. It would have gray clouds and it would not look as amazing as it does now. If Andreas had not edited this photograph it would have never sold for the amount of money that it did. It is an amazing piece of art and really is a one-of-a-kind item.

Clothing

I thought I'd mix it up a little bit....
Would the way you dress be considered a way of creating a new artwork everyday?
Women in general spend so much money on clothes (guilty as charged.)
I don't know why we do it but it seems like we are somehow wired to spend large sums of money on clothing and shoes. Especially shoes. The worst part about it is that we never wear 75% of it! But that is besides the point..
Everyday a woman spends anywhere from $60 to over $400 on clothes.
When I think about a topic like this, I only see this:

Andy Warhol Dollar Sign 1982©The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. Founding Collection, Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc

It makes you realize how overcome by consumerism that we are. 
As a person, we only make so much money. Everything costs money, but you can never make enough. That's how everyone feels. But if you think about it.... There's so much more to it
You don't need to buy everything. Hence there is a word called Budgeting. If you can buy everything that you want, then you have it made. You really do. 

Let me give you some examples of clothing that cost a lot but are amazing.
And then I'll give you some examples of clothing that costs a little amount but are amazing as well.

ISTA301 Homework Assignment #2

So we had homework assigned to us and its about a collage. I wanted to post it so you could see it and I can share it with anyone who decides to take a look at it. I want to add that none of these pictures I created or painted. I just simply put them all together in a collage.

Whenever I look at this collage, I have so much emotion. I love it so much and its so me. Its pure and feminine with some rustic edges. The main picture in the middle has to be my favorite. The woman with a cat as her "inner soul". Its so beautiful and draws my eyes to the whole painting. and the photos collaged around her are not too extravagant and bright to cancel her out. She is the main center and focal point. Everytime I look at this collage I see something different. And thats crazy for me because I made it.

I want to say I'm overwhelmed but its not the collage that does that to me. But its the fact that I made this amazing piece of work that I am so proud of. Its so gorgeous and pretty for me to look at. I love it. And I dont know how to explain my feelings. Its just gorgeous and I am beyond in love with my collage. It means the world to me and I am so proud with the result of my Homework assignment #2.


-Marie <3

Would Instagram be considered art?

Somedays I do Instagram and I wonder.... Would it be considered art?
To many it could be. Cause art is all the perspective of the person.
So anything that you see on a daily basis can be considered art. As in today, I was walking down the Mall on campus and an organization placed flags all over this section of grass. It says in the midst of them "9 11 NEVER FORGET". That is also art, even if it's not posted and edited on Instagram.
In my other art class, I found an artist that I'm basically in love with now. He did the Kanye West album cover as well, Takashi Murakami. His piece, Tan Tan Bo in 2001 was amazing and I really love it. It is technically considered pop culture art.

Here is a link to a fan page about Takshi Murakami: Takashi Murakami Fan Blog

His art is so different and colorful it makes me feel something. 

When learning in my other art class, we are also learning about Fiona Rae. There are so many artists that my professor for ARE130 talks about. But the only ones that have really caught my eye are these two. They are beautiful and colorful and not your contemporary art. It's so pretty. I'm just in awe.

Here is Fiona Rae's actual page: Fiona Rae's Website

I hope you enjoy looking at this art as much as I do. <3

Pinterest

As I sit here going through Pinterest, I realize that so many things can be considered art. Tattoos, to paints, to food, to your standard definition of art. I can't believe I haven't really opened my eyes to this before. (It's what two art classes in one semester does to you).
Art is truly in the eye of the beholder. I know that is said a lot but I actually mean it. As it says in my "About Me", I'm an animal lover. Like I'm obsessed with animals, especially Pandas. So I tend to find anything with an animal on it a piece of art. You can see so much in an animals eyes. I just relate to that photograph. And if someone were to paint an animal, I'd be amazed if the eyes were done with the same intent that the animals normally have.
Tattoos for instance. Many people believe that they are defacing their own bodies by putting ink on their skin. That can or can not be true depending on the tattoo that they are putting on their body. Again, it is in the eye of the beholder. The only tattoo I could ever get would be a simple, small one because anything more than that would overwhelm by body and look unnatural. There's a lot of factors that go into tattoos.
Hair can also be an art! With all the different colors, styles, cuts, etc. Theres definitely art wherever you look.
Landscaping! Also an art. They turn dirt and rubble into a beautiful, usable space.
I'm pretty sure I could go on and on.
But I'm not going to :)

-Marie

First Official Post

Hey guys! This is my first “official post”. Basically I had to make this for my class. I go to the University of Arizona and this class is called ISTA301: Computing and the Arts. The basics of this assignment is to post at minimum 12 articles about art and talk about them. So that’s what I’m going to do. If you happen to stumble upon this while surfing, I hope you enjoy. If not, then sorry haha.

-Marie