Untitled

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Dan Flavin, Icon V (Coran's Broadway flesh), 1962, Oil on cold gesso on masonite, porcelain receptacles, pull chains, and clear incandescent 'candle' bulbs, Minimalism

Flavin combines the conventions of religious art with demotic  material and metaphors of modern confusion in this piece, as James Lawrence reviewed. The wood panel in the middle painted with a skin-toned color suggested human flesh. A frame that simulate the Manhattan's theater bright light, suggests the underlying meaning and culture; and as Flavin hints in the title of the piece, Coran's personal view to the scene.  According to Flavin, Coran was a homosexual who loved NYC.

Lawrence, James. "Dan Flavin. Washington." The Burlington Magazine. Vol. 90-149. London: Burlington Magazine, 1948. 847-48. Print.

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Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, 1979, Mix Media, Installation, Feminism Art

This installation, by Judy Chicago, was created during the feminist art movement. Each table, in total of 39 tables with objects, is aimed to represent famous woman artist depicted by the symbolisations that further explains each one’s story. The Dinner Table is experimental at its time when it was created. It was the first time that the piece uses such language and imagery to elucidate women’s glory and achievement in woman’s history. (Snyder, 34)

Snyder, Carol. “Reading the Language of “The Dinner Party”“ Woman’s Art Journal.Laverrock, PA: Woman’s Art, 1993. 30-34. Print.

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Lee Krasner, Blue Square, 1937, Oil on Canvas, abstract expressionism

Lee Kranser is known for her painting style that is less delicate and pretty. As a woman, she was trained to paint like one, but she viewed at this as a horror. She paint like a man and insisting that she was different from others. This painting explains a lot of Kranser's personality in creating art. The thick paint and bold lines applied on to the canvas shows her masculine painting style. As Wagner explains, in this painting, she believes lines, colors and planes in the service of geometric - and these elements are the vocabulary for making a picture. (Wagner, 48)

Wagner, Anne M. "Lee Krasner as L.K." Representations 25.1 (1989): 48-49. Print.

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Jasper Johns, Target with plaster casts, 1955, Encaustic and Collageon canvas with objects, Pop Art

Target is a theme that Jasper often adopt in this work, there are series of work that is associate with the motif of a target. In this piece, a target is being painted, which a target is usually perceive as something that people aim for, in even an activity. Here, Jasper transforms an already exist functional object, a target, to become a piece of art or display. There are no composition that is newly created here, because a design of a target is already made. The plaster casts of body parts on top of the target represent portraits. Again, Jasper Johns challenges how people expect art should be, by using a functional, in the same time, already exist and mass produced object in his own work. 

Hess, Barbara, and Jasper Johns. Jasper Johns: "the Business of the Eye" Köln: Taschen, 2007. Print.

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Jasper Johns, Flag, 1954 - 1955, Encaustic, Oil and Collage and fabric, mounted on plywood, three panels Pop Art

This is Jasper John's best known work, it was actually developed before the pop art movement in the United States. The flag was painted using furniture paint, which is applied over a canvas of news paper collage which was mounted on the panel earlier. From a distance, audiences sees a flag of the United States, which iconically represents the nation; the flag is also something that each individuals could relate to personally. Close up, the paint's transparency reveals the news paper in the back, hinting the irony of the United States is build upon the political history and revolution.  In this piece, Jasper adapt already exist object, flag, which is also an object that is being mass produced for its function; by painted the flag, transform the piece into a wall display, rather than how people usually perceive a flag and expect what it should be. It brings up a question, whether a painted flag is now a work of art, or is it functioning as a representation of the nation.

"Jasper Johns's Flag." NY School, Jasper Johns' Flag. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013 <http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/ny-school.html>

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Liu Zhen, Lanscapes of the Mind, Lacquer painting, Color-field Expression

This work is displayed at Zee Stone Gallery on Hollywood Road, and priced 70,000 HKD. Lacquer is an unusual medium, which purpose was aimed to the final touch or finishing procedure of coloured wood. This piece utilizes vibrant colour in relatively big areas, which is an unique characteristic of color-field expressionist. Upon the influence of color-field expressionist, Liu Zhen applied the ancient form of art from Chinese, creating the unique look of this mixture of Chinese and Western culture. 

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David Bomberg, The Mud Bath, Oil on canvas, 1914, Futurism

Mechanical figures that represents human figure, in blue and white, hurl themselves in the red colour, which represents a pool of mud. The lines and colours are strong and harsh, which creates this vibrant energy in the piece, which celebrates and reflects Bomberg’s idea ‘I look upon Nature while I live in a steel city’. The lines and flat colours creates the abstract figures transcend the school of futurism, as well as the continuous movement create by the diagonal lines. The piece was meant to illustrate the bathers at Schevzik’s Vapour Baths, Whitechapel.

Corck, Richard. “Bomberg, David.” Oxford Art Online. Oxford Art Online, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. <http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.library.scad.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T009782?q=David+Bomberg+the+mud+bath&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit>

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Edvard Munch, The Sick Child, oil on canvas, 1885, Expressionism

This is Munch’s early year work, his favorite color scheme, red, tawny yellow, violet and black, was not greatly used in this piece. It is his later work that he developed with a technique that his brush stroke is separated from each other to avoid color mixture.

This piece is dominated by dark green. The girl in profile on the left, is covered by a green stick fabric, and her hair losen up indicates her sickly appearance. The woman on the right with her head down indicates sorrow. The two, appears with a hand grip between them, creates a strong connection and emotional bond between the two.

“Parnassus.” Savannah College of Art and Design. College Art Association, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.

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August Macke, Tree in the cornfield, pencil, oil on cardboard, 1907, impressionism 

This work of August Macke was influenced by the plein-air painting of the French Impressionists. He starts to paint outdoor. And this piece, Tree in the cornfield was directly painted from the scene of nature.

The color Macke uses in this painting is strongly vibrant, with the help of spontaneous strokes and concentrated colours, to preserve the high summer mood that he was experiencing. The cornfield in yellow, was applied spontaneously, contrasting with the blue sky up above. In the middle, the tree is filled with purple, and on its green top is partially filled with brown. The tree cuts through the yellow cornfield and blue sky creates tensions from the vibrant colour palate between the three. The piece suggests the school of Impressionism, because of the vibrant use of color and less focus on creating the detail of the image.

Meseure, Anna, and August Macke. August Macke, 1887-1914. Köln, Germany: Benedikt Taschen, 2005. 15-16. Print.

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Proun 99, El Lissitzky, Watercolor and metallic paint on wood, Russian Constructivism, 1925

Proun is a series of work from El Lissiztky, where he aims to create three-dimensional environment with 2-dimensional shapes and forms. He uses geometric shapes and flat color spaces to create depth. He was able to create ongoing tension between the lines and shapes from top to bottom.

The work is experimental, where the artist is looking for an understanding to the existing object by breaking them into the most basic elements and further demonstrate the behaviour of materials. Constructivism was the way for people, or artists, to seek for orders, especially for the modern society after WWI. The previous work Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, was a actually a precursor to Proun series.

“The Art Story.org - Your Guide to Modern Art.” El Lissitzky Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works. Theartstory.org, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2013.

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Beat the Whites with the Red Wedge, El Lissitzky, Lithograph, Russian Constructivism, 1919

This is an early work by El Lissitzky. It was produced for political propaganda for the communist revolution took place after Bolshevik came in power in 1917. The red wedge symbolised the revolutionaries, which is penetrating the white circular shape, which represents the anti-communist White Army. The three colours contrast heavily with each other creates an confusion of defining the negative space and the positive space. The usage of simple geometric shapes signifies constructivism, where El Lissitzky exams and analyses the basic elements of simple shapes and forms. The image aims to communicate a universal message affectively, but very minimal in containing a theme.

M. N. Sokolov. “My Library.” Savannah College of Art and Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. <http://0-www.oxfordartonline.com.library.scad.edu/subscriber/article/grove/art/T074586pg4>.

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Raoul Dufy, La Tour Eiffel, 1935, Watercolor on paper, Fauvism

This piece, by Raoul, illustrates the Eiffel tower and its surrounding landscape with vibrant colors and typical fauvist brushstrokes.

A quote from the artist:

“What I wish to show when I paint is the way I see things with my eyes and in my heart.” – Raoul Dufy

This explains a lot of his personal style and the perception in illustrating the view, especially the swirling strokes of blue lines on top of the white color to create a stylish could on the Paris sky. The whole image, including the grass and the river, aims to create a sense of romance.

The Eiffel Tower by Dufy Also Known as La Tour Eiffel.” The Eiffel Tower by Dufy Also Known as La Tour Eiffel. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2013. <http://www.aaronartprints.org/dufy-theeiffeltower.php>

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Man Ray, Ingre's Violin, Gelatin silver print, 1924, dada

In this piece, Man Ray utilised a female body into a music instrument as appeared by painting a pair of sound holes in the back of the female body. It is called Ingre's violin is because of the admiration of Man Ray towards the work of a musician Ingre's, whose music has greatly influence the surrealism artists.  Man Ray explores and pushes how human perceive photography in this piece, and successfully transforms an image of one object to another.