You're the Curator!

                "Greek and Roman Marble Art"

My last and final trip for the semester was to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and my assignment was not to just go around looking at "good" and "bad" artwork to write about. But to look for artwork that I would want to place if I ever had an exhibit. The Met had all different type of artwork from all over the world. Artwork that focus on Greek and Roman art, Art from Africa, Oceania & the Americas, to art work from the 19th-20th century European Paintings and Sculptures. My first stop was the Greek and Roman art and I automatically knew what I wanted to focus on for my last and final project.  Greek and Rom. an art focus on the culture of status, plates, masks and more culture things. My main interest throughout viewing the Greek and Roman art was the beauty of the marble statuses.

The first piece of marble art work I was "Marble Grave Stele with a Family Group," which is a grave monument of a family that went back from 360 B.C. I thought this was extremely fascinating because it wasn't your typical grave stone that you saw at cemetery. It was so well detailed and I am pretty sure there's a story behind the marble carving of it family. Another piece of marble art work that grasped my attention was another grave monument which is called "Marble Greek Stele of a Little Girl." I thought this was a beautiful piece because it most be for a little Greek girl that passed away, but in the marble carving of the little girl it looks like she is hold a dove, which can symbolize peace. So to me this was a sentimental piece because even though it is most likely a grave monument for a little girl, the little girl is hold a dove which shows that even though she is gone, she is at peace. And the last piece of marble art work that really grabbed my attention when I read the description was the "Marble Statue of a Lion." I really enjoyed reading and looking at this piece because it was a marble lion that they would make to put on a person's grave to keep away the evilness that can come they way. I thought this was interesting because reading it gave me a sense that in the Greek culture even though that person is dead evil can still come and harm them even after they are. So they put the lion on their grave to give them a sense of protection. After viewing all the different marble art works of Greek and Roman times it made me really want to start doing research on their culture and the myths or stories of that continue to live through today.   

Culture: Greek, Attic

"Marble Grave Stele with a Family Group"

ca. 360 B.C

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Relief Fragment with Gladiators"

1st-3rd Century A.D

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Head of a Greek General"

1st-2nd Century A.D

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Portrait Head of the Emperor Constantine I"

ca. A.D. 325-370

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Relief with a Dancing Maenad"

ca. 273 B.C.-A.D. 14

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Greek

"Marble Greek Stele of a Little Girl"

ca. 450-440 B.C.

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman"

ca. A.D 193-211

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Greek, Attic

"Marble Stele (Grave Marker) of a Woman"

Mid-4th Century B.C.

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Greek

"Marble Statue of a Lion"

ca. 400-390 B.C.

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Head of Zeus Ammon"

ca. 120-160 A.D.

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Head of Athena"

ca. 27 B.C.-A.D. 68

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Statue of a Bearded Hercules"

A.D. 68-98

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Roman

"Marble Herm"

1st or 2nd Century A.D.

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Greek

"Marble Head of a Goddess"

4th Century B.C.

Greek and Roman Art

Culture: Greek

"Marble Head of Veiled Goddess"

Late 4th or 3rd Century B.C.

Greek and Roman Art

Chelsea Galleries Reaction

This week I didn't go to a typical art museum like the museums in the past but I went around Chelsea, New York to view different art galleries from many different artist and their work. Each artist had their own form of art that was like no other. Of course like always I had my favorites and my not so favorites but each artist that I saw had a very interesting type of art style.

On my journey around Chelsea was something I never thought about doing, which is weird because I work around the majority of the galleries that I went it to see. My favorite gallery that I went to see had to be Gilbert & George. There gallery was extremely and had me captivated as soon as I entered their world of art. I was like each photo told a many different topics like muggers, toddlers, addicts, young girls and many different other topics. I was so drawn into their type of artwork because I learned that each topic was actually a news headline at one point. And reading all of the different frames of work brought many different emotions to me. And I love being able to connect to a work that gives me a sense of emotion.

The art gallery that I did not like or find interest in had to Anish Kaporr. Kapoor's work was of freestanding concrete sculptures. They had a unique form of texture but had no affect on me when I looked at it. It was like looking at a blank piece of paper for me. No emotion was created inside me when I looked at it. It was a different type of artwork that everyone should see at one point in their life because it is not a piece of art that you would see everyday, but for my own personal taste it just wasn't for me.

Art is something that we come across everyday. I learned that when I went to visit different galleries at Chelsea. Someone can make unique artwork using gallons of cement. Or take old news articles and make a collage of the topic to make art. The Chelsea galleries is something I would love to go and continue to visit. And since I literally work across the high from many of them I think it is something that I will take up as a hobby and bring some co-workers to along to experience visiting a gallery that we pass by everyday going to work. 

Anish Kapoor

2011-12

Gilbert & George

Yummy Cheese Empanadas

Yummy Cheese Empandas

Cheese empandas was the first food I remember ever seeing someone cook when I was a little girl. My grandmother use to make them for me, my sister and my cousin every summer vacation we went with her to Puerto Rico. She taught all three of us how to make them at a very young age. They are extremely easy to make and cook really fast. So you can make them if you're in a hurry or if you simply don't want to spend hours of cooking to fulfill your hunger because these cheese empandas hit the spot!
Ingredients:

• A package of discos (dough for turnover pastries)
• Shredded cheese of your choice
• Oil
• Frying pan
• A rolling pin
• Fork
• Tablespoon
• Measuring cup

Instructions:

1. Make sure the discos have defrosted so you are able to flatten them with the rolling pin. (If you do not have a rolling pin that is not a problem you can flatten them using your hands.)
2. Once flatted put a tablespoon or two of cheese in the center of the flatten disco.
3. Fold over the disco so both of the ends touch.
4. Take your fork and press down on the sides to close the disco. (Do that on both sides)
5. Put your stove and a medium level heat and fill your frying pan up with a cup and half of oil.
6. Once the pan starts boiling place the cheese filled discos into the boiling oil.
7. Make sure to check them often and once they are golden flip them over so the other side becomes golden as well.
8. Once both sides are golden take them out and place them on a plate.
9. Make sure to take a paper towel and dab any extra oil that is on them.
10. AND NOW YOU FREE TO ENJOY YOUR YUMMY CHEESY EMPANANADAS! 

                                     

                                  HOPE YOU ENJOY AS MUCH AS I DO!!!! :)

Sculpture Center Reaction

     For our fourth field trip, we visited the Sculpture Center. The exhibit was the "Bill Bollinger: The Retrospective," and his exhibit focused on the dimension of space and the shows different architectural elements. This exhibit was interesting and different from all the other exhibit I have seen so far and every piece of art work had it's own form of uniqueness. I have chosen three piece of works of art that were displayed in the Sculpture Center to talk about.

    The first piece of art work I will talk about is the "Cyclone Fence." It was a fence that was twisted 180 degrees and laid not so much in the center but was place a little more to the left hand side of the room making it stand out as soon as you enter the exhibit. I felt like that was an extremely smart place to put that piece of art work because it was the first thing that caught everyone's eye. It was a eye catcher from as soon as you enter. This beautiful fence made my mind wonder and made me create scenarios in my head making me think about how would I get over a fence like this if I ever came across one. I'm the type of person that likes to create crazy scenarios in my head when I see a certain type of art. With that being said I think this piece of art had to be my favorite of the bunch because it wasn't just something that I saw and left my mind after, it was something I saw and something that made me think and stood with me till the end.

     The second piece of art work I will discuss is the "Water Tanks," that we located in the basement of the exhibit. I was a water tank that was center in the middle of what looked like a hallway, so when as soon as you got done the stairs it was the first thing that you saw when you entered and the last thing that you saw when you left. It was a old rusty water tank that had water filled up to the top. I'm not sure if there was anything located inside of the tank I was very hesitate to look inside of it for some strange reason so I'm still wondering if there was something inside of the filled up water tank or if it was just a rusty old water tank filled up with water. 

     And lastly the third piece of art work I will talk about is the "Rope Piece." It was a piece of rope that connected from the floor to the ceiling also located in the cellar of the exhibit. It was pass the water tank hallway into a separate narrow room with another rope that was simply laying flat on the ground. The rope connected to the floor and ceiling wasn't a very big distance but it I think that's what made it so unique. It wasn't a type of rope that you would think of climbing up on but a type that made you step back and think about it and the area surrounding it at well. 

    All three forms of these art works had a special meaning as to why the were placed where they were. Even if you don't understand what type of meaning the art work is trying to display you have to remember that the art work doesn't stand alone without the surrounding it has all around it. And that is what Bill Bollinger wanted to display as well. That he's art work is nothing without everything around it. 

Design in Our Lives

In the last field trip that I went to, we revisited the MoMa to visit exhibits that specialized in the arts of designs. This exhibits had all different types of designs. Designs you may see in everyday life and designs that leave you thinking how can person use such a thing. And that was my goal of viewing this exhibit. I was searching for four types of designs, two that had "high functionality" and two that had "low functionality" since no designs are ever perfect.

One design that I had saw that I thought was high functionality was "Blizzard Survival Bag" by Derek Ryden. I think this is a high functionality because it is something that is extremely useful to humans who go camping in the outdoors during extremely cold weather. It's something that can keep you harm instead of freezing to death it you ever get caught out in the cold. Imagine if this blizzard survival bag didn't exist and people caught in blizzard while they were on their journey. I wouldn't want to imagine that type of thing happening to me. So I would say that this is one design that was very well made and has a high functionality. 

One design that I saw that I thought that  was somewhat low functionality was "Rescue Board 709" by Hiroyuki Tazawa. His design was a rescue board that was made out of recycled paper. I thought of making a rescue board is a very smart design because it can help carry people who are injured who cannot move. But I don't understand why he would make a rescue board out of recycled paper knowing that the weight of a person will easily break it and most likely injure them more. Thinking about how this design probably won't ever be used to help a person made me think that it is a low functionality design.

Another high functionality design that I saw was Paul Haustein "Coffee Service." It was a coffee set that contained a coffee pot, sugar bowl and a creamer made from Pewler-sliver alloy in 1904. I thought this was a high functionality design because it is something people use everyday no matter what time it is. People wake up to make coffee in morning and sometimes people even drink coffee before they go to bed. So Haustein designed a coffee set that contained everything a person needs to have their cup of coffee throughout the day. I know I use mine morning, day, and night.

The last design that I ended up going was Anthony Dunn and Fiona Ruby's design called "Designs for an Overpopulated Planet." Not only did I think this design was a low functionality but I was also confused on what the actual meaning of the design is suppose to do. The designs were very odd, the designs consisted of a augment digestive system, tree processor/digestor, a grass processor and a algae digestor all made from fiberglass. There was also a video that went with the design and a brief description of it and all I understood from it was that the world was running out of food and some how this design is suppose to help. Maybe I was looking at the design all wrong and read the description wrong but I feel like in order for a design to be helpful for people someone shouldn't have to struggle to understand what the purpose of the design is. And I feel like since I didn't understand the artists work in this design for me it is a low functionality, only because I don't know what it is suppose to be of.

No two designs will ever be the same even if they consist of doing the same thing they will always be different. It can be made in a different color, different material and will simple just have a different design. Also not every design out there in the world will be understood or made for people to use maybe it was design and made only for a display so that other people can enjoy looking at it even if it is useless to the human eye. A design is a part of art that people will continue to see every single day. 

Derek Ryden

"Blizzard Survival Bag"

Reflex-cell, polypropylene, and rubber

1998

Hiroyuki Tazawa

"Rescue Board 709"

Recycled Paper

1998

Paul Haustein

"Coffee Service"

Pewler-silver alloy

1904

Anthony Dunn & Fiona Ruby

" Designs for an Overpopulated Planet: Foragers"

Augment Digestive System, Tree Processor/Digestor, Grass Processor

and Algae Digestor made from Fiber Glass

2009

Illustrate a Story

     The story I listened to was "The school buses were already lined up to take the kids home," by Kenneth Honeycutt and his story was about the school bus explosion back in 1937. He was 8 years old in the 3rd grade when the school bus exploded happened in 1937. He said that when this event had happened he felt as if it was God's fault for that horrible event he had to witness. He believed it was God's fault until he was an adult. The part that really stood out to me in Kenneth's story was the fact that he blamed God for so many years for the school bus explosion. So I decided to create a drawing showing  a school bus on fire with two big hands throwing a fire ball. The two big hands that I drew is suppose to resemble God "creating" the school bus explosion that Kenneth thought he had started. I hope you enjoy Kenneth Honeycutt's amazing story and my illustration of his story.

MoMa PS1: The Good, The Bad and The Misunderstood

This pass week I had another great opportunity to go and visit the MoMA PS1. At this MoMa I saw different types of art at this MoMa than the MoMA in the city. The art work in this museum was the type of art that I have never seen before. The art work was displaced on different floors portraying different types of art from your regular painting on a canvas to art work being displayed on a big screen. I will discuss the art that I would say would be "good" art, the art work that I would describe as "bad" art, and piece of art work that I just couldn't understand.

The one piece of art work that caught my attention wasn't your typical art work that hangs on the wall in the museum. It was Janet Cardiff's "The Forty Part Motet" that caught more then my eye at the exhibit. She had place forty speakers around a huge room with each speaker letting out a different sound. When I first walked into the all white room with the beautiful music playing I felt like I had enter the gates of heaven. Like at the very moment nothing in the world mattered because where I was at that very moment was where I wanted to be. When I got to the center of the room and sat down on the bench hearing the music all the stress that I had in me was just simply released. It is art work like that that I would say is "good" art. Art work that can change my whole mood.

The one piece of art work that I personally didn't like was Frances Stark "My Best Thing." Stark's art work was portrayed in a video. The video was talking about how people do sexual things over the internet in chat rooms. The video was set with little avatars that almost looked like Adam and Eve from the bible to me. They spoke in this robotic voice that was very annoying and it made me feel like I couldn't stay in the room long enough to fully understand what the video was saying. I'm sure that the video had a great story line that people should listen to since the internet is such a dangerous place but I didn't like how she put it together with the neno background color and the annoying robotic voices. That piece of art is something that I would say is "bad" art.

The one art work that I didn't understand at all was Darren Bader "Chicken Burrito, Beef Burrito." This art work was just a white room with windows and music. I don't understand why this was called chicken burrito, beef burrito when there was absolutely nothing that was related to a chicken or beef burrito at all. I don't think I will ever understand this piece of art even if someone gave me their interpretation of what they think. I think it's just one of those pieces of art work that no one will even fully understand what Bader meant to portray.

Every person has their own view and opinion of art work. Something that I saw as "good" art someone else reading this blog might see it as something amazing and vise versa with the "bad" being seen as "good." An artist is meant to tell a story with the work and every painting, video, or musical piece of art is meant to tell a story and to make us feel a certain way.

Janet Cardiff
"The Forty Part Motet"
40-Track Sound Recording (14:00 minutes), 40 Speakers
2001.

Frances Stark
"My Best Thing"
Video (Sound, Color)
2011

Darren Bader
Chicken Burrito, Beef Burrito