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Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Thursday, May 02, 2019

Art & Emotion

I have never felt comfortable discussing art with most people who like art. That's because I feel so ignorant on the subject. I do agree with whoever said they didn't know much about art but knew what they liked. And I tend to like what makes me feel or think.

Georgia O'Keeffe was the first artist I appreciated and it wasn't even her actual work that drew me in first. What I loved right off was the romance between her and the man who loved her so - and who photographed her in such a way that the love was obvious. I always wanted a man to look at me the way I imagined Alfred Stieglitz looked at O'Keeffe. I felt voyeuristic because of much I loved one sensual photo of her (you can see it here) and  I obsessed over O'Keeffe's hands. Later, I learned to love the way she painted those flowers.

O'Keeffe's flowers made me think about the simple beauty of nature that most of us don't take the time to appreciate. They reminded me to be in awe of nature and to truly understand that  - in Reddit-speak - nature is f**king lit.

You can only know what you are exposed to. Books and music are what my parents - my father - taught me to love. Both are forms of art but I was never really introduced to paintings or sculptures. The commonly know works of Michelangelo and da Vinci was unavoidable since I grew up on the Bible and in church. And... that's it basically. I have glanced at photos of works by the classical greats but so have most people.

Recently, I watched something on Netflix about an artist whose work really made me take notice. Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski was interesting in all kinds of ways. I haven't decided exactly how I feel about the artist himself, but I fell in love with his work. The only way I can describe it is to say that if Szukalski had been a singer, he could hit notes no one even knew about. (By the way, here is where you learn more or even purchase books and prints.)

This piece is a favorite. And this and this and this (which is titled "Stubborn" but, to me, portrays depression). There's no room to list all the ones I like. I also loved the look of the letters he wrote to his wife. By the way, the man wrote like an artist. Literally. You have to watch the film to get that part.

I'm really glad that I happened upon that film because I discovered another artist. I think that artists - of all kinds and all mediums, whether visual, aural or otherwise - give the rest of us new ways to understand our feelings. For instance, I can't explain what love feels like but  Gwendolyn Brooks did it for me with her poem (my favorite!). Side note: I remembered blogging about the poem before and it was also a post about mood expression.

What I am realizing is that I can either just stumble across beautiful things (by happening upon a film) or I can search them out. I guess I need to start paying more attention to the world that is outside my head. It's been a while since I have even taken time to appreciate the works of artists I love. I need to change up some life priorities...

Before I close out this post, I want to explain that my parents did expose me to a lot of beautiful things. I didn't appreciate it at the time like most children don't. I wish my father could be here to tell me more about the music he loved and why he loved it. I can remember my mother helping me to understand why she loved the old "negro" spirituals she sang and hummed all the time. I'm even glad that I went through my teen years loving the works of Nikki Giovanni without understanding why until years later.

I can't remember now what prompted me to write this post, but it has motivated me. I want to spend some time this weekend looking back over some of my favorites artists. I want to get to a used book store and make some finds. Now I've got art and emotion on my brain.

Peace
-Free









Monday, October 14, 2013

Speaking of Talent

When I spoke before about certain people being smarter than others, I mentioned  some folks with unique talents. I looked up a few other articles about people with pretty amazing artistic skills:

  • This lady makes cakes that look like anything but. How cool is this? I told family members that I'd love to have that looks like a bottle of Shalimar.
  • As someone who could only draw simple butterflies before I got sick (and couldn't draw a glass of water now), I love these works. That she drew these by hand with anything, let alone a pencil, just blows my mind. Oddity Central has quite done articles on similarly talented people. Some are weird, disturbing or silly, but Ms. Olga and this fellow are my favorites.
  • I love "paper art", especially the work of Peter Callesen. Check this page for his and other paper art artists. (Love, love, love Brian Dettmer's book sculptures!)
  • The same source site from the previous gave my first glimpse of Cecelia Webber's work. She takes the idea of "human body art" to the next level past fabulous. How beautiful are her designs?
Nice work, huh? I only wish I could afford any of it. By the way, if there is a point to this post (other than highlighting some cool talent), it's that we should all concentrate on what we are good at instead of worrying about our limitations. 

Hey, +maria antonia Trajano I see how you love art. Hope you find something you enjoy via th links posted here! :-)

Peace
--Free

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

For What Reason Art?

The other day, I enjoyed a conversation about art with someone in my G+ "circles." I learn so much from the folks on that network. The conversation made me think about some art works and photographic works I really like.

I've mentioned before that I love Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers. I don't know if I ever talked about how I love the photographs that her husband (Alfred Stieglitz) took of her. The woman had the most amazing hands! Hands that you expect an painter to have. But my favorite photo is this one:

Taken by Alfred Stieglitz (wikipedia)
This is so honestly and beautifully raw to me. It looks as if she has just finished making love. Nothing dirty about it, nothing glamourized about it, and no bullcrap. Just this amazingly wild and beautiful woman. But, as I told the person I had a convo with: I only know what I like.

I am always curious about what other people like - in music, art, books - and why. And can we always explain why we do like something?

Peace
--Free

Friday, March 15, 2013

Beautiful Discoveries

One thing I absolutely LOVE about the Google Plus community is the sharing. And now I am going to share with you some new music and art I was introduced to this morning. Hope you like it.

+Susan Lewis brightened up my entire morning when she posted this:

Sayaka Ganz @ sayakaganz.com
You know I just had to go over and check out the artist's site. Wow. Fell in love with almost every single thing there... Since I can't afford the pieces, I can show support by sending you over there.

Then my G+ Sophie B. Hawkins friend (listen to her biggest hit and the light-bulb will go off) +David Renaud shared music by a group that I have now also fallen in love with. I like the song that David shared (Fisherman's Blues), but I adore this one. Had YouTube worn out with it while I did my step-board workout.



Last, but never least, is not new to me, but I was reminded by +Spencer Bryant's profile. If you watch a lot of retro TV - or are older than, say, 40, you probably know the show "Good Times." You might not know the artist behind the work ("Sugar Shack") shown during the credits.

Ernie Barnes 1938 - 2009 R.I.P.
We need to show support for artists and musicians who bless us with their talents. These guys all highlight what is beautiful about life.

Peace
--Free