Module 12 Blog Review

Rachel Callea

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above: I chose, Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the 50’s and 60’s and Hockney on Photography. The first one sounds awesome, Pop art of the 50s and 60s! Seems colorful and wild and fun and I’m interested in the video. The photography video because I think photography is cool, it’s very creative and beautiful. Curious to see what kind of photography he does, and also curious what kind of pop art I’ll be seeing!

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned:Abstract Expressionism and Pop: Art of the 50’s and 60’s: For abstract art, you are not to think about what it shows but to think and feel what the painting is. There is a strength of contrast, white fine lines on a black background. Franz Kline was a popular abstract artist. Sensual impact and ambiguity are important. Color did not play an important role to him until his later abstract paintings. There is a language of abstraction. It captures emotion. Our assumption of the role of black and white determine our idea of depth and surface. Franz Cline was an action painter. 

Hockney on Photography:David Hockney is one of Britain’s greatest painters, as well as an amazing photographer. The camera is older than photography. Photography is the chemical invention of how to put the image on a flat surface with light that reacts to things. It was used by painters before. Photography has become a collage. Is photography an art? Or a fantastic tool? Hockney is a painter who takes a series of images from a camera and rearranges them. He keeps all his photography albums. He started with a polaroid camera in Los Angeles. Hockney’s work is very different and unique. 

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text:The videos relate completely with the book. Starting on page 500 we see abstract art just like Franz Kline’s artwork. Jackson Pollock’s, Number 1, shows an all-black background is splattered white paint along with a few other basic colors. We can call Pollock and Kline abstract expressionists. The next few pages display abstract images like we saw in the film. The last few pages of the chapter we see photography relating to the Hockney film. One that stood out to me was David Wojnarowicz, Americans can’t deal with death. This was acrylic and photographs on board. Very similar to David’s style of work. 

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts:My opinion of the films is that they both were different than I was expecting. A little outdated and hard to follow through. The first was a lot of abstract, bland, art. We see that lines and color play a big role in abstract art. There is a lot of white streaks against black paint, very little colors, shapes, etc. For the photography film, it makes us think whether or not photography is art. We see that it can turn into a collage, the images can be placed a certain way on paper, they can turn into paintings, etc. I think it is art in a way, but not completely. I believe art comes from your hands and skill. A camera does that for you. It is what you do with it after that creates the real art, like Hockney’s.