Bauhaus

Bauhaus

The Bauhaus was founded in 1919. The Bauhaus gave us a better and easier life by producing better products such as the kettle and a comfortable chair. It had a combination of both education and design. Paul Klee, Vasily Kandinsky and Josef Albers were some of the artists of the Bauhaus.

It has over 400 works by 100 teachers that include architecture, ceramics, costume design, furniture, graphic design, industrial design, painting, photography, sculpture and textiles.

The Bauhaus movement was considered a radical step towards modernism. The Bauhaus was in 3 different locations, Weimer-Germany from 1919-1925, Dessau-Germany from 1925-1932  and Berlin-Germany from 1932-1933. It was required from the students that first they should finish a certain course before they could specialize into the workshops.

The Bauhaus chose some teachers to not only teach but to be as an inspiration and motivation.

Kandinsky used a lot of geometric shapes in his paintings, he used squares, circles, triangles and zigzags to show his creativity. His most important piece was the ''Yellow Red Blue'' as he used primary colours to show the relationship between them.





Bibliography:
The Bauhaus, 1919–1933 | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2013. The Bauhaus, 1919–1933 | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm. [Accessed 25 April 2013].
MoMA - Explore Bauhaus. 2013. MoMA - Explore Bauhaus. [ONLINE] Available at:
Bauhaus: Ninety Years of Inspiration | Smashing Magazine. 2013. Bauhaus: Ninety Years of Inspiration | Smashing Magazine. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/02/bauhaus-ninety-years-of-inspiration/. [Accessed 08 May 2013].
http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2009/bauhaus/Main.html. [Accessed 07 May 2013].
Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. 2013. Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar and Dessau - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. [ONLINE] Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/729. [Accessed 07 May 2013].

Surrealism

Surrealism

 

Surrealism began in the late 1910's and early 20's. It became an international intellectual and political movement. Some of the artists were: Breton, Louis Aragon, Paul Eluard and Philippe Soupault. It grew out of Dada. Surrealism was based on positive expression.

The Surrealists had a leader who was, ''Pope of Surrealism,'' who was a French writer. His name is Andre Breton. Some combine the word, ''surreal,'' with the strange things that happen in our dreams.

This image above is an example of Surrealism, it has strange stuff such as the girl is playing the piano in a form of a house with candles on top and the house is burning.

Surrealism was influenced by Sigmund Freud.










Bibliography:
WebMuseum: Surrealism. 2013. WebMuseum: Surrealism. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/glo/surrealism/. [Accessed 15 May 2013].
Surrealism - Art History Basics on Surrealism - Early 1920s to the Present. 2013. Surrealism - Art History Basics on Surrealism - Early 1920s to the Present. [ONLINE] Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/Surrealism-Art-History-101-Basics.htm. [Accessed 16 May 2013].
Surrealism and Visionary art. 2013. Surrealism and Visionary art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://surrealistisch.blogspot.com/. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Dada

Dada

 



Dada was an artistic movement in Europe during World War 1. The word, 'Dada,' means either hobby horse or baby talk. They had difficulties trying to find the name. It had only ne rule that is never to follow any rules. The Dadaists wanted to create an emotional reaction.

Abstraction and Expressionism were the main influences in the Dadaist art. Dada was also part of Surrealism. It finished when it was in danger of becoming "acceptable.''

The Dadaists were furious with the modern society. They decided to protest through art. Their art had no meaning, as it was really weird and different from the others. The most outrageous painting was done by Marcel Duchamp as he painted a moustache on a copy of Mona Lisa and wrote rude words underneath it. This same person also created a sculpture called, ''Fountain,'' in which in reality it was a urinal with a fake signature.

People repulsed the Dada movement and by so, the Dadaists were more encouraged to continue.
This movement was spread from Zurich to other parts in Europe. Some adjectives that would describe this movement would be:  sarcastic, funny, colorful, different and silly. Dada hadn't the usage of only one medium, the Dadaists used glass, plaster, wooden reliefs and other medium too.

--Richard Huelsenbeck
'Art is dead. Long live Dada.'






Bibliography:
Dada - Art History Basics on the Dada Movement - 1916-1923. 2013. Dada - Art History Basics on the Dada Movement - 1916-1923. [ONLINE] Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/cs/arthistory10one/a/dada.htm. [Accessed 08 May 2013].
Dada and dadaism : history of the Dada movement. 2013. Dada and dadaism : history of the Dada movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dadart.com/dadaism/dada/020-history-dada-movement.html. [Accessed 14 May 2013].

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was developed in Europe and North America in the nineteenth century. This period was in 1890-1914.This style was based on decoration, most of it was inspired from insects and animals such as dragonflies and crabs. It was an inspiration to the Industrial revolution. Some of the artists were inspired from the past while others with the technology that was at that time.

This period was about modernizing the style and design. In English terms the word "Art Nouveau" means, "New Art," in French. The Japanese woodblock-prints had floral and "whiplash" curves. This style was mostly known amongst the German-speaking countries.

Bibliography:
Art Nouveau. 2013. Art Nouveau. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.nga.gov/feature/nouveau/exhibit_intro.shtm. [Accessed 30 March 2013].
 Art Nouveau Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. 2013. Art Nouveau Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-art-nouveau.htm. [Accessed 31 March 2013].

Exhibition 4

Exhibition 4

This sculpture is called,''Mara Eleganti Hafna,'' which in english means a very elegant woman in maltese. It was done by Antonio Sciortino in 1879-1947. He was a maltese sculptor and he was one of the most famous maltese sculptor. 

This sculpture has a bold piece that is the bottom piece which has straight lines and is contrasting with the other piece as the woman has a lot of lines but that are not straight and a lot of detail.

This sculpture is called,''Ragel bl-uniformi,'' which in english means a man in uniform. It is covered in bronze and it has a lot of detail in the uniform. It seems that this guy was in military because his uniform resembles the military uniform.

The man is really smart and one can tell that he was in a high class. He has several badges which also means that he was really good in his job. In those days one could tell if a person is in the lower class or higher class by the profession that he does.

This sculpture is of a priest as one can see by the clothes that he's wearing. In those times they use to wear that type of clothing for a priest. It was really elaborated while nowadays the priests would normally wear normal clothing with the white collar.

His clothing has 2 holy crosses that indicate that he is religious and the cloak-like would be black. The man is rather old as he has wrinkles and few hair. The sculptor chose the sculpture not to do it in colour as it may ruin the sculpture. It is really plain as a colour, greyish-white. Maybe he didn't want to ruin some details in the sculpture.

This sculpture is really famous in Malta, even with tourists. It is''Les Gavroches,'' by Antonio Sciortino. It is a sculpture of 3 kids holding their hands. As one can see they are very poor, their clothes are thorn apart and one of them is barefoot.

It is made out of bronze and it is situated in Valletta in Upper Barrakka Gardens. In those days, there were many poor people and the kids used to work at a small age.

This one is a sculpture of a medical officer. He was made by George Borg in 1906-1983. He is pretty smart in the uniform and he seems to be in a high class or a middle class. He is rather young as one can see from his face.

Exhibition 3

Exhibition 3

 This sculpture has a sticky-like texture. It is a sculpture of a man that has some writings on it. It has dull colours. I like this sculpture as it gives a creepy-like finish.

This piece of art is original as it is a man's hand with a tattoo and he's wearing bracelets.

This image has a contrast in the colours, as the background is black while the print is light. It has a different pattern on each piece. I really like it because of the contrast and its creativity.

This sculpture is a shoe that is made a lot bigger than the actual size. It has a black smooth texture and a velvet-like red inside texture.

This piece has several different concepts, the words are humorous as one would reads them. They are all symbols of nowadays fashion and cartoons. The designer had an intention to make an impact for those who read them, as they refer to the transgender and homosexual people.

Victorian Art

Victorian Art

The Victorian era was during 1837-1091. The second half of the nineteenth century was one of the most fascinating periods of our history. During that time, many technological changes happened. The vibrant colours represented the high society of the picture of England.

This Victorian Era began with a return of the classic realism which was popular in ancient Roman and Greek societies. The technology caused changes in the way scientists, artists and the public viewed art. Art styles varied during this period because of the huge advances that were made in the photographic technology.

In this era, many paintings were of the countryside of England. These paintings depicted their work and gave brilliant colour representations.

The Queen Victoria reigned between 1837-1901. This time was perceived as a golden age in the arts. She was born in Kensington Palace in London on 24th May 1819. She was really good at drawing and painting.

She became Queen at the age of 18.

Bibliography:

. 2013. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.avictorian.com/victorianart.html. [Accessed 08 April 2013].

Lecture's notes

2013. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.royal.gov.uk/historyofthemonarchy/kingsandqueensoftheunitedkingdom/thehanoverians/victoria.aspx. [Accessed 08 April 2013].