Saint Paul Online Arts

Vintage photography gives us a glimpse into the past, and helps to allow people to gain some understanding of the world before us.  Unlike many of the collections that are considered the staples of art collection, vintage photographs are truly a unique exploration of the recent past, and many eras of the current civilization have come to contribute their share of what makes up vintage photography.  Though not the largest grouping of auctioned materials of artistic value, they are still valued for their recollections of past events, and even items relating to vintage modes of photography are included in the auctioning of these things.

Cameras and equipment, photographic books and photo postcards before 1940, and even Viewmaster reels are acceptable pieces of auctioning material.  All these things have contributed to the overall history on film, and even as the motion picture took on a predominant role in culture, the photograph has still been a staple of this system forming the basis for it all.  Much of what seems to have the most value are those photographs that come from eras predating this revolution in film, and even further back to those images captured years just after the invention of the camera.  Some are standards to which we have become accustomed to considering is merely part of our past, and we have to know that these things also have worth.

It is with this in mind that one can better grasp the innate worth of the photographs that might have caught their eye.

That there is an overwhelming number of pieces that represent this particular grouping of artwork seems false to believe, but this is happens to be on the rise as we get further into the new millennium, and realize the shedding of our culture’s skins time and again.  Grotesque artwork pulls us back into the human forms we have been born into, and truly seems to give us a reaffirming sense of who we are.  There are many artists, though part of other artistic movements, which have proven to fill the criteria for this grouping of concepts.

Grotesque art from the past ranges from varying degrees of mood and theme, but always seem to draw from those factors that are widely considered by most to be taboo or dark in nature, adhering to some of the most brutal and thought-provoking events in history.  All these things have come together to create a body of works that jump between particular eras, but seem interrelated in the subject matter that they portray, creating works that define the morbid attentions that we seem to take from our history as a whole.

Through the works of such famed artists as Picasso and Goya, the light within the darkness of our own human condition can be revealed to us, and these reflections of our culture are seeds to the future as the culture has evolved.  Many differing movements each seem to donate their own unique spin when considering these peculiar models of work, and the theme of horror and terror can be interpreted by my different people many differing ways, no matter whether today or some era further behind us.  For some cultures, it is a way to evacuate fear, and express it without harm to one’s emotional health.

Though morals may seem to be too constrictive today, there are still points where society converges on points that break past the emotional barriers that many people construct, and this art is very much a mirror for evoking an honest reaction at the reflection that stares back, a response that cannot be replicated any other way.  These images more than affect the rest of the present day world, as can be heard in many recent dimensions in music, and related themes can even be found in today’s popular attraction towards the horror films and novels which sell more than ever now.

It is when you consider the works of artists possessed by a certain vision, one that evokes pain as well as passion along with the other contradictions in life, and it is then that historic works like those of Hieronymus Bosch and even modern designs of H. R. Giger can be learned in equal measure of value.  Their predilections towards breaking the taboos enforced by their surroundings, has helped to guide us steps into the future of our own acceptance and appreciation for our world, and the layers of depth can be revealed when one takes the time to find those elements that appeal to the sense of artistic worth.

To take control of your knowledge of this kind of artwork can better equip you for finding the particular works that you would be most enthusiastic to own, and though most of the more famous works can only be bought as prints, there are still many artists today who practice a style that intrudes upon that thin layer on the surface that reveals the most visceral layers underneath that.  When looking for the right work to suit your tastes, a good deal respect must be given to those that attempt to translate their thoughts onto canvas, and you can come to better understand this category of art when approached with an open mind.

Today, some works by the artist Joe Coleman have more recently pushed the boundaries further back, and smashed a lot of preconceptions of artistic will.  His approach includes the use a single horse hair brush, and detailing so fine that many layers can be found after viewing the paintings and prints dozens of times over, creating a new perspective on it with each consecutive viewing of the work.  It is these layered degrees that artists strive for time and again to reveal insights into the nature of what it is to be human, and allow us to get in touch with sides of ourselves previously unknown or held back.

The ancient civilizations that have come before this present period of time have always left behind some truly unique pieces to others after them to gain some insight as to what that society may have been like.  We learn much from the artifacts collected by archeologists, and their attempts throughout the Mediterranean region of the world, where the peoples of Greece and Rome had originally found their home.  Though much of these items are priceless works that cannot be just bought and sold, there are versions of some famous works that can be much cheaper for the casual shopper to purchase.

Many pieces of the genuine article are sometimes found wherever the Greco-Roman styling of things has been prominently featured in architecture or artwork, and there are very many varieties that you might consider as being included in the category with statuary, such as ornately crafted vases and busts.  Some of these aspects are certainly more common than many other varieties of this kind of work, with replicas of all of these items is much more common then one may think before coming to understand the rarity of these things, and that genuine articles will be priceless artifacts in some cases.

With statuary of as historic a nature as the Greco-Roman period, and you consider the history behind some of the pieces, you will better understand somewhat the reminders that float through to us from history’s fingers.  Much of what know of their culture has been passed down for many thousands of years, and it is remarkable to see how the themes and subject matter has evolved as it relates to the centuries gone by, as all manner of time period has broken down into our own present day settings.  Greco Roman statues give us a literal model of how they perceived the world around them, and though similar and plausible for making comparisons against our own culture, those cultures from a distant past can be great reminders for us to look to for inspiration.

There are many very good examples of what you could call early American artwork that has survived to this day, and as time passes to create particular movements in style throughout the world, fundamental ideas change with a variation in locale and timeframe when it comes to the individual artists and their brilliant visions.  Each artist certainly contributing something to the overall picture of the world as it shapes and changes around them, it takes an artistic will strong enough to transcend any particular era to convey the feeling of the period in such a condensed format, and the various forms that this artwork can take is numerous.

Early American art runs the spectrum from Native American art to the modernist painters and artists we can see presently, and their artwork can all be summed up under the category of early American art, creating a totally unique perspective on the American landscape.  When you wish to see a museum-quality piece in your own living room, there can be multiple ways to acquire the ideal artwork you find, and not all of them have to cost an arm or a leg.  If you think that the buying experience has to be an expensive one, then you are sorely mistaken, but any museum piece can be considered priceless in some hands.

There is still much American artwork being produced that is quite relevant a reflection on the state of affairs as they stand throughout time, and no matter the period, there is certainly a way to find an example of what you are looking for whether the artist happens to be involved in a particular movement or otherwise at the time.  There are many various definitions that American art falls under depending upon when the work was made, though only after the nineteenth century did movements begin to be started in America, and it was then that artists like Jackson Pollack were given the freedom to express themselves.

This lead to the outgrowth of the Abstract Expressionist movement in art, came up out of the colliding of influences between Ashcan artwork and the modernists from Europe like the Cubists and abstract painters, and appeared in the years after World War II.  Within the mindset of this movement, the abandoning of formal composition gave way to arrangements that concentrated on space and color to represent the physical act of painting on the canvas, and created works based around instinct instead of representation of real objects.  These works would eventually affect the works of pop art that would come to prominence later in the century.

It is truly a wonderful thing when you consider how much we gain from our appreciation of art, what volumes it speaks about our own culture, and among cultures that make up the world besides our own.  It is highly fashionable to understand something of what art is, how it tries to reinterpret our own scope of the world on an artistic level, and yet reveals so much of the human nature behind its creation.  Today’s artistic minds are no different in the outgrowth of ideas onto a canvas’ surface, and some are possessed with similar qualities that those artworks considered classics have had in the past.

There is particularly unique insight coming from a lot of contemporary art, or so the label seems to include today’s works of art, with certain vagueness stemming from the lack of a dominant school of thought or ideology.  Most date contemporary art beginning towards the late 1960s, most artwork could be defined easily by particular details prior to this, and there were trends of these preferences even through to the 1980s.  After the Modernistic period of art was confirmed, much of the direction came to be rather disparate during periods of socio-political change, and many of the distinctions within art have been loosened dramatically.

With some critical opinions decrying the current of contemporary art to be devoid of “true beauty”, critic Donald Kuspit was known to say that art had left the studio and found its’ way into the street, and that may not be that much for the worse with the blurring of many lines presently.  Today, contemporary art seems to reflect those issues being faced by the world, and the emphasis on politics seems to have intensified of late.  The shift drawing away from an ideal of beauty and purity to a complete opposing force of inspiration from socially oriented art, and often crosses the bounds of proper medium.

Though that is where the argument stops and conjecture begins as critics and artists alike clash in opinion over where the line is particularly between the various categories of thought, and it has been pieces of every different art movement being reevaluated in a similar way, in order to find that place that crosses over between art, artist, and audience, and creates a means for all of them to share space in the comprehensive concept to the artwork.  Making the gaps in the points between art and life smaller and smaller, and creating new ways in which to comprehend the ways of the things we view around us.

Engaging mass culture with affecting the boundaries of perception through the means of the relevant issues shaping the world as we know it, and today there are many schools and studios of contemporary art that try to help shape the practice of contemporary art that will translate to the future, allowing us introspective glimpses into the artist’s thoughts.  Creating interconnectedness that defies and defines what laws and life may continue to restrict, to analyze, and further define itself as multiple entities within one completely distinct from the sum of its’ parts.

American Indian art encompasses many types of arts and crafts, from the more traditionally and / or stereotypically Native American art such as beadwork and pottery, to modern photography, fine paintings, sculptures and the like.

One of the most traditional and historically relevant branches of American Indian art is beadwork. Beadwork of the Native American peoples had and has practical as well as decorative; utilitarian as well as rich symbolic meaning.

Beadwork and making of the beads themselves is a very old craft. Stone, bone and shell beads (such as turquoise and semi-precious stones) are still made the same ancient way. Little affected by modern technology, the making of beads is still carried out in nearly the exact same way as peoples did thousands of years ago.

Sea shell bead pieces are among the most popular and well known pieces of regional trade importance for thousands of years. Nearly everyone has seen American Indian art pieces, from beaded necklaces to purses, belts and such.

For the last several decades modern beadwork has been replicated in oriental factories and very cheaply imported. This makes it a competing factor against the top quality beadwork done by American Indian craftspeople. The native American crafts people have lost several millions of dollars (just over an eight year period during the 1980s) to these fake native beads and beadwork pieces.

Historically, beads were carved from turtle shell, animal horn and deer hooves. These were often used for making rattling or tinkling pieces utilized in dance. Hunters often wore necklaces put together with animal portions, such as bear claws or wolf claws. These indicated a hunter’s prowess. Bones and seeds were often steamed to soften them for stringing and /or bending into various shapes.

As an example of beadwork used for a most practical purpose, the Iroqois League (Haudenosee) used white and purple wampum chains made of fresh-water clam shells to record sacred ceremonies, treaties and songs. This practice was used both before and after the coming of European settlers.

Many types of agreements were recorded with such beadwork chains. They were highly valued and cared for by their owners. European settlers mistook this care and reverence for wampum beads as a sign that the beads held monetary significance. As such, they mistakenly assumed that the word ‘wampum’ referred to money, when in actuality these important beads were much more like very important original documents.

To string beads, Native Americans used animal sinew that is split very fine with which to attach beads to clothing, though infrequently strong plant fibers such as hide thongs or nettle were used for these purposes.

Today, the Navajos as well as some pueblo people still make the ancient bead type called the heishii. This is by far the most popular and high quantity type of beadwork that is still made today as it was in ancient times. These necklaces are also referred to as story necklaces as they can be used to tell stories, with each bead representing a character.

Beads and beadwork are a very important part of archaeological explorations of pre-European history. Beads have survived thousands of years and tell many fascinating stories about times we weren’t around to witness. This is particularly true with respect to beadwork mad of sea shells. Ancient shell beads have been found thousands of miles from seas, which indicates various trade routes and contacts among different groups of people.

Today American Indian artists even create digital beadwork designs to help them make actual beadwork pieces. In this way complex designs and pieces can be tested on the screen before the project is begun. This has certainly added to the creative process for many beadwork artists.

Beadworking weaves through native history both in ancient times as well as in today’s modern computer technology. The most important aspect of beadwork, though, is not what can be sold or gained, but personal pieces that are only given among family and friends. The true meanings behind these pieces are personal associations tied to visions, important perspectives and other things that an individual wishes to be reminded of.

I want to use famous art as a party theme where can I buy supplies?

A woman in my office is retiring and she’s really a great artist herself and I wanted to acknowledge that with an “art” theme but am having trouble finding supplies, I mean other than wall prints. I find it hard to believe that there aren’t plates etc with depictions of famous paintings (I know it’s a little sacreligous but …). If anyone can point me in the right direction it would be very appreciated, or even if you have other ideas for an art themed party

Try allposters.com, they have a ton of pics of all sizes and might be a good place to start. I included a link. GL

Portraiture?

For my gcse final piece i have to create a portrait of my choice, but to gain the best marks it has to be related to another artist and done in their sort of style-but of course your own version.
Any ideas on a famous artists portrait work i could use for my final piece?
I dont like pop art in any way so dont mention please!
And anything other than the ovbious would be very helpfuL!

Picasso? That man was a genious

I Love Touring Paris – the Fourteenth Arrondissement

The fourteenth arrondissement is located in southern Paris on the Seine River’s Left Bank. The arrondissement covers about 2.2 square miles (over five and a half square kilometers) and is home to over one hundred thirty thousand residents and about seventy thousand jobs.

Some people will want to visit its famous Catacombs, Roman limestone quarries converted to burial grounds more than two hundred years ago. In all my years in Paris I never saw the Catacombs but never felt that I missed them. But hey, that’s just me. The Catacombs were created because improper burials caused lots of disease in the famous Les Halles market district and in fact all over Paris. These quarries by no means limited to the fourteenth arrondissement definitely reduced disease but did cause many safety problems. During the construction of Paris’s newest subway line the courtyard of an elementary school collapsed. What luck that there were no children present.

You can take an authorized tour of the catacombs or explore them on your own. There’s a word for such people, cataphiles. Among the authors fascinated by the Catacombs are Umberto Eco and Edgar Allan Poe. With all the underground visits it is interesting to note that only a single death has been confirmed in the Catacombs during the last 250 years.

The Cimetiere de Montparnasse (Montparnasse cemetery) is the final resting place of many famous French intellectual and artists including Charles Baudelaire, Samuel Beckett, Simone de Beauvoir, and Jean-Paul Sartre. The cemetery also has monuments to Parisian police and firefighters killed in the line of duty.

The name Montparnasse comes from “Mount Parnassus,” said to be the home of the Greek muses to the arts and sciences. To my knowledge this neighborhood was not very important for science with a single, extremely important exception. Montparnasse is home to the world-famous Pasteur Institute, one of the leaders in the fight against the AIDS virus and numerous other viruses. This neighborhood has been a center of the arts since at least the Seventeenth Century. As many other artistic neighborhoods, it boasts numerous cafes, bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. But in the old days many Montparnasse artists lived in extreme poverty. In the local cafes the rule was simple; waiters did not wake sleeping artists. In some cafes such as La Rotonde, actually in the Sixth district on the other side of Boulevard Montparnasse, the artists “lent” their work to the cafe owners until they could pay their bills. In the words of Marc Chagall, “The sun of Art then shone only on Paris.” And while some of that sunshine was in Montmartre, most of it was in Montparnasse.

The famous music hall Bobino was and still is a neighborhood fixture on the Rue de la Gaite, which lies just west of the Montparnasse Cemetery. Among its famous non-artistic residents were Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, and Symon Petliura, an anti-communist Ukranian political leader. History does not record whether the three ever met at Bobino or other Montparnasse nightspots.

You can immerse yourself in the spirit of the times at the Musee du Montparnasse (Montparnasse Museum) located at the former studio of the Russian-born Montparnasse painter, Maris Vassilieff. Vassilieff was quite a character; she founded a canteen for starving artists and once pushed the Italian-born Montparnasse painter Amedeo Modigliani down the stairs. Afterwards she did a drawing of the incident. The Museum offers members a monthly cultural gathering. Try as they might, I don’t think they can capture the flavor of old Montparnasse.

La Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris (International University of Paris) is a complex consisting of several dozen residences for students and visiting academics. First started in 1925, many of its buildings were designed by famous architects; for example Le Corbusier designed the Swiss and Brazilian pavilions. North of the Cite is the lovely Parc Montsouris (not translated as Mouse Mountain Park) designed as an English garden.

La Sante is one of France’s most famous prisons. It includes both VIP and high-security sectors. Founded in 1867 it owes its name (which means health) to the nearby Ste-Anne hospital. La Sante was divided into four blocks to place prisoners with others from the same geographic or ethnic environment. During the Twentieth Century it was the sight of many executions by guillotine, the last one in late 1972. Near the end of World War II on July 14, 1944 political prisoners revolted. Many were massacred by the Vichy (collaborationist) forces.

Of course you don’t want to be in Paris without sampling fine French wine and food. In my article I Love French Wine and Food – A Bordeaux Rose I reviewed such a wine and suggested a sample menu: Start with Andouillette (Chitterling Sausage). For your second course savor Esturgeon a la Libournaise (Sturgeon cooked with White Wine). And for dessert indulge yourself with Fanchonette Bordelaise (Puff Pastry with Custard and Meringue). Your Parisian sommelier (wine steward) will be only too happy to suggest appropriate wines to accompany each course.

About the Author

In his younger days Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books. Now he prefers drinking fine Italian, German, or other wine, accompanied by the right foods and the right people. He knows what dieting is, and is glad that for the time being he can eat and drink what he wants, in moderation. He loves teaching various and sundry computer classes at an Ontario French-language community college. Visit his Italian travel, wine, and food website www.travelitalytravel.com and his Italian wine website www.theitalianwineconnection.com.

Do I need permission to do this in my writing?

Let’s say I want to slide in a few pronouns into my writing from time to time. I know there is a legal issue with using a musician’s song lyrics in writing without their grant of permission, but I’m talking stuff like “McDonald’s” or “WalMart”–simple pronouns that are well known enough for the majority of people to know off the top of their heads. Am I liable to be held accountable for any copyright issues? Now what if I go a little further and maybe insert a famous person’s name like a philosopher’s or an artist’s or maybe even a title of a major work(s). Am I voiding any legal policy?

You raise a variety of issues on multiple fronts.

“WalMart” and “McDonald’s” are proper nouns (not pronouns) and they are not copyrighted; they are trademarked. For example, you cannot open a restaurant and call it McDonald’s and paint golden arches on the side of the building.

If you write an essay or personal narrative and talk about a time that you went to McDonald’s, you can just write that. Generally, you can do the same in a work of fiction. (Example: Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts. The author used WalMart as the setting for a good bit of the story. She painted WalMart in a favorable light. I’m certain WalMart was made aware of this and given the opportunity to approve the story.)

In the movie “Little Miss Sunshine,” there is a scene where the family is using some promotional glasses from a fast-food restaurant. Originally, the script called for drinking glasses from Burger King, and Burger King did not wish to be associated with the movie, so that detail was changed. That’s about trademark.

If you write a report or an academic work, you must use the trademark sign immediately after names like WalMart and McDonald’s and Apple.

Citing an author or an artist or a philosopher and referencing a work is not copyright violation. Citing a bit of a song’s lyrics is one thing; printing the lyrics to an entire album is another. There are lots of factors.

You should read about what copyright is to get a better understanding.

Also, if you were to publish, the publisher will vet the work to make sure there are no legal issues. If you want to self-publish, you would do well to have an attorney (one who specializes in publishing) vet the work for you.

Generally, in order to be held liable, there must be stakes, preferably high ones. In other words, no one is going to bother coming after you unless it’s worthwhile. This is not to say that this gives you a license to violate any copyright as you please, but rather to understand that it’s a long way off before it becomes a problem.
I don’t think there is a link listing any and all “legal issues concerning publication.” There is much to be considered; it’s not all just black and white.

In the meantime, don’t worry about it. Write and get the writing done. You can fuss with the details and the legalities later.

Check out:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html