Abstract

Abstract art is really intriguing. There's so much in the work of art that I'm not even sure that you can analyze what the meaning behind the piece (if there is actually a meaning). Abstract paintings are usually bright colored so immediately it demands your attention. Other abstract artwork has one central figure but is camouflaged in the background that it not the first thing that you see.

Imagination and Realism

All things expressive are considered art in my opinion. From literature to facial expressions, expressive things are art because imagination is expressed through art. Imagination is a helpful tool for analyzing a form of art. Without imagination, the world wouldn't have half of the creations we have today and humans wouldn't be as expressive as they are today. 

Although imagination may influence some art, it doesn't influence all art. Art may not be inspired by imagination or intend to inspire others.  Realism in art is defined as something that the artist creates just to create something without the intent of it being analyzed for its meaning. I often feel like people always try to analyze everything in the world because they need to find meaning to everything.

Ferdinand de Saussure

"Everyone, left to his own devices, forms an idea about what goes on in language which is very far from the truth"- Ferdinand de Saussure

Semiotics and Art History by Bal and Bryson, goes into detail about Ferdinand de Saussure's fundamental views of Semiotics. Saussure is the one of the founding fathers of Semiotics. His view is if others want to know how things function, such as words in a language, then they "must set to one side both the aspects of historical change within particular languages over time and actual utterances or performances of language in local situations (parole)." If art spectators can use Saussure's view of the way signs work, they can understand the paintings or even have another way to approach the painting without being biased. It is really true how easily people become biased towards anything because of what people and the media say about certain things. If we could approach something in a semiotics way, we wouldn't be biased because it would be a natural process just like thinking process.

Las Meninas

When I was first reading Foucault's piece, the introduction captured my attenction. If you refer back to Las Meninas by Diego Velaquez while reading the article, everything makes sense. Foucault puts emphasis on invisiblity and visibility by repeating the words and using examples. One of the examples that Foucault uses is Velaquez in the painting. In class today, we talked about various reasons as to why Velaquez put himself in the actual painting. The act of him putting himself in the painting while painting the artwork symbolizes to me that Velaquez wanted to be in that time period to accurately paint the picture right in his eyes; that's the fundamental answer to the question what is art. Just like Velaquez, Dali paints himself in numerous artworks as well. For some reason, I like that artists can put themselves into their work. It makes the art more personable.

Connection

One connection that I noticed after reading the Sontag essay was when she mentioned Samuel Beckett. Last year, I read Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Analyzing literature is similar to interpreting art. Either you can see the literal aspect of the piece or you can try to find a deeper meaning of the work.  I can agree with Sontag’s point about a writer who is “uneasy before the naked power of his art that he will install within the work itself- albeit with a little shyness, a touch of the good taste of irony…”. I defiantly think that Beckett avoided being blunt about religion in the play because religion shown in a bad light is very controversial.

First trip to the High Museum

Before entering the High Museum, I expected that the museum would look like a regular, plain building. My expectations were wrong as I walked up the slope to enter the museum. The modern building is so interesting that you see the building as a piece of art rather than a museum. My wrong expectations caused me to enter into the Dali exhibit without any expectations at all.

                When you hear often hear of Dali, you think of The Persistence of Memory. In many of his paintings, the same symbols would appear, such as eggs, clocks, and horns. I think that the time period or his philosophy caused him to use the same symbols over and over again. One thing that I appreciated about Dali is that he is in control over what he does. Under one of his pieces it says that Dali believes that his art has other functions than just being painting.

The painting that really held my attention was Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Dali. I feel like many people, myself included, can just look at the piece and relate it back to their religious lives. There is so much that could be said about the piece of art. It’s powerful. Dali defiantly appeals to the audience by using the religious symbol of Christ on the cross.       

 Overall, my first trip the High Museum was really enjoyable.