Anna Valerius Art

A senior in high school with a passion for art, social activism and education. All work that's mine will be labeled as so. Thank you! 💓💓

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Yayoi Kusama  in her New York studio, c.1958-59

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An Essay on Felix Gonzalez-Torres! Enjoy!!!

NOTE: PLEASE DO NOT COPY AND PASTE ANYTHING. THIS IS AN ORIGINAL ESSAY, WITH ALL SOURCES CITED. PLEASE DO NOT STEAL. 

(Photograph from Art Institute of Chicago’s website. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/152961)

Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ artwork, “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), makes a socio-political statement about AIDS by utilizing public interaction with his readymade sculptures, and the passage of time.

The sculpture, composed solely of cellophane-wrapped hard candies, represents his partner, Ross Laycock, who died due to an AIDS-related disease, according to Wiki Art. The sculpture’s beginning mass of 175 pounds is approximately Ross’ healthy weight before contracting HIV, according to The Art Story. viewers are encouraged to each take a piece of candy from the pile. As viewers interact with it, the candy gradually disappears into nothing, symbolizing Ross’ slow decline before passing away. The experience serves as a communion in which viewers are invited to take a sampling of the sweetness of their relationship to enjoy for themselves. Gonzalez-Torres utilizes viewer participation to address the concept of universality.

According to Walker Art, “His [artwork is] democratic in accessibility …”. This is because the materials he uses are easily graspable when vast ideas are applied to them. The specific materials alone that he uses contribute to viewer-engagement that is full of contradicting realizations that lead to communal solidarity, humility, and understanding. He purposefully evokes this awareness of being, doing so to comment on the lack of visibility for people suffering from AIDS. Viewers encounter the stigmatized subject of AIDS, partnered with the automatically familiarized candy that is put before them, and this combination creates ideal circumstances to form new views.

Using the concept of forming relationships between the medium and viewers to propose new thought processes, he considers how the public will interpret the theme through their actions. Inviting his audience to indulge in the sweetness that he experienced with Ross, Gonzalez-Torres invites the viewer to form their own memories. Viewers embrace this experience and marvel at the concept, but they are clueless to the impact they’ve made, and how they have detracted from the work of art in whole due to their own indulgence. Through this experience, the viewers become active participants in the silently complacent destruction of the gay community through negligence and an ignorance of personal indirect impact on the HIV/AIDS crisis. This idea is supported by The Art Story which also explains what caused this lack of consideration and support. The following quotation explains. “Many stigmatized the disease as ‘gay cancer,’ leading to the failure to adequately support research or treatments, and ultimately, to thousands of early deaths.”

Through considering the impact of time, according to Art Babble, Gonzalez-Torres could visualize the gradual progression of Ross’ physical decline. Using this visualization of underlying destruction, he memorialized the experiences of degradation the gay community experienced due to societal ignorance on AIDS. Although the portrait is continually depleted by viewers, Gonzalez-Torres utilizes the continual renewal of the candy pile to immortalize his message alongside his partner.

According to Wiki Art, he honors Ross and all victims of AIDS by addressing a larger social and political issue. He addresses the overarching negligence directed towards the gay community that contributed to the victims’, Ross’ and Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ own early passing.

About his socio-politically active art, Gonzalez-Torres is quoted saying this in an Art Press interview with Robert Storr: “Let's consider the most successful of ... political artists ... Why are they the most successful political artists? Because they don't look political!” Felix Gonzalez-Torres passed away in 1996 creating many artworks like “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) in the time before his death, continuing to discreetly address socio-political issues giving these issues their own voice through his artwork.

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CAM Connections

Hi all, I’ve been working on a series called CAM Connections: Connect to the Cincinnati Art Museum for a while now, and I’m very excited to share this idea with you. Just a disclaimer to clarify: this is not sponsored by the Cincinnati Art Museum in any way, this is simply a personal project that I have been interested in doing independently. As many of you know, I’m a docent at the Cincinnati Art Museum, and if anything, this series will be a great tool for myself to use, so if anything this is just an idea I had to create connections to help myself, and I wanted to share eith others. So, after all of that you must be wondering.. “what even is CAM Connections anyways??” Well my dear friends, I’m here to tell you!!! The Connect to CAM series is made with the goal of being a study tool for the Advanced Placement Art History course. Although this series is geared towards those with access to the Cincinnati Art Museum, it is not exclusive, and can be an amazing study tool if examples is something that helps you study. I have learned myself how powerful repition and finding connections can be. I have learned that once you can conjure your own examples from what clues you’re given, you have exhibited your learning. I hope you enjoy.

Look out for a museum update soon about my latest as a newly graduated docent. I will also be posting an outline of my final practice your here. I have found it really helps me review what I did right and wrong through rewriting everything here.

Stay tuned!!!

-Anna Valerius

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Okay kids today we’re gonna talk about Edmonia Lewis

Edmonia was a sculptor in the 19th century, and was half African-American and half Native American. She was one of the first people of colour from America to earn international fame and success for her artwork. She started sculpting during the civil war and trained under some of the most influential abolitionist sculptors of the time.

Not only was she a successful WOC artist, but she sculpted other people of colour in the neoclassical style:

Forever Free (1867)

Old Arrow-Maker and his Daughter (1866)

The Marriage of Hiawatha (1866)

Do you know how rare it was in the 19th century to have a piece of artwork show black people or Native Americans without them being ‘savages’ or half naked? Let me tell you, it’s pretty damn rare.

She would purposely leave her women more clothed than her male figures to desexualise them, and I probably don’t need to tell you why that was important at this time (if you really want to see how white artists saw black women, look up American Slave and The Virginian Slave).

Unfortunately she was made to make her female figures look more European as she got backlash accusing her of inserting herself into figures BUT they’re still hugely impressive given that most famous sculptors at this time had teams of people working on their work and adding all the details by hand, whereas Edmonia did absolutely everything herself.

Basically I think about Edmonia Lewis a lot and I think more people should know about her.

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Edmonia Lewis' work of art, 'Marriage of Hiawatha' is on view at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Go take a look in person!!! What her work is surrounded by is very different from her work.

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Postman Roulin and Armand Roulin in Loving Vincent

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Update Oct.26

Hi all,

I have been super super busy with college applications, essays, searching for scholarships, starting a new job all while doing this little thing called school, and extracurriculars…. ya girl is “capital t” Tired. Straight up.

BUT, even though I’ve been busy, I’ve been working on some things for this blog. With the art museum, I am currently writing my last and final tour, and making another project called CAM connections to bring the worlds collection of art into the Cincinnati art museum. Sometimes we often forget that all the works of art in the world are connected. This project is to highlight this connection, and to improve my synthesis and research abilities. Stay tuned for more!!

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Philip II of Spain, Peter Paul Rubens, ca. 1628

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Connect to CAM: portrait of Philip II by Peter Paul Reubens

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June/July Update

Hi loves!

I have again been MIA, but this time with no excuse. I am currently working on my next practice tour at the Cincinnati Art Museum with the topic of Stories and Literature. This summer, I plan to create a collection using works at the cincinnati art museum to create a parallel teaching collection to provide a tactical resource. I am going to try my best to find 250 works that are either parallel to the 250, or teach directly about that one work of art to reinforce ideas. I also plan on posting more high quality photos of my art, and I am also working on a content area focus for Abby that should be up soon. Another update to come soon!!

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Feb. 19th, 2017:

Hello there!!!

As you can see, I have not stuck with my goal of posting something every week. I don’t want to give up on the idea of making this blog, so here goes. Lets give this another shot!!

This is the Fangyi Wine Vessel, found in the @cincinnatiartmuseum. You may recall this work of art from your memory as there are others like it housed in museums all around, but each with its own variations. This work of art was created in the 12th century BCE in China.

What do you think the purpose of it was? What do you think it is? Zoom in, or even better, go to the art museum and see it in person, and take a guess at what is depicted.

This work of art is called Fangyi, and that translates to ‘Wine Vessel’. This was no ordinary wine vessel that you would use at your suburban soccer-mom parties in 12th century China. No, this was a special type of wine vessel. In China, ancestor worship was common, and this work of art would be used as a container to hold offerings of wine for ancestors. Along with other vessels for food and drinks, these foods and drinks would be used for ritualistic purposes to honor the passed family members. This practice was done by the wealthy aristocrats of the Shang dynasty of China. This wealth is evident simply in the commissioning of such an object, and the valuable bronze material used.

During the time this work of art was made, a process was being used in which multiple clay molds could be used to create great detail within the metal, and create an extremely detailed surface when casting the bronze beauty. This technique, and technical skill can be seen in the swirls, and deeply detailed spiral levels of this work of art. When you look closely, dragons can be observed, along with taotie. A taotie is a mask modeled after a dragon with large, bulbous eyes, horns, and typical facial features stylized to match that of a dragon. Taotie translates to “glutton”, and this is most likely in reference to the monster usually being depicted as an “ever-devouring beast”. It is unsure what the meaning of this symbol is.

By spending large sums commisioning this vessel, and others like it, the nobles of China during the Anyang period of the Shang dynasty hoped to continue their power through ancestor worship.

What would you put into this vessel if could? What would you want other people to leave you if they were honoring you?

sources: https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/u/0/asset/wine-vessel-fangyi/dgEcrN6coTc0_A

https://www.britannica.com/art/taotie

http://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/explore-the-collection?id=11911825

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Sketchbook page by Anna Valerius: Starry Night, technique practice, 2016. This is an original work of art, and you know that stealing is wrong, so don’t do it…

A technique study I did in studying Van Gogh’s heavy, post-impressionism style that was distinctly his own. Using the technique of laying the colors next to each other instead of mixing, or blending them was distinctly post-impressionism, and I wanted to try that out, and the practice of pouring paint, and not mixing it on a tray, or even on the paper, and I can defiinitely say that under what you see there are many other layers of paint where I began to mix, and I restarted. It was a really cool experience, and I think it really makes you think of how you mix your colors, and how you make those color scheme decisions. It is really cool to watch your hand make decisions in what to lay down. I recommend trying this cool exercise to anyone who wants to try some new techniques, understand color application a bit more, color mixing, or art history, and practicing what you have learned about. 

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Helloooo

My goal is to either post a new work of art, or post an art history story every week at this point. I have written about art before, but with prompts, so it will take me some time to get back into the swing of things with writing about art, so just give me some time and understanding, and we’ll all be good. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show my loves!!!

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A work of art I did based on the original quilt by Faith Ringgold. This is my original photo