SPA3 Reflection, and Activity.

     
       The human activity shown in this work reflects the idea of dancing and defending one's self. The artists perspective on "Capoeira Do Brasil", is to awareness to historical information on Brazilian heritage.  It's a very simplistic image, simple shapes and simple colors with sporadic patterns that emphasize intensity.

AR4: Louise Bourgeois

Louise Bourgeois - "Maman"

            If you have a fear of spiders then you might want to watch out for Louise Bourgeois’ work. Bourgeois is known as the spider woman because of her piece “Maman”. This steel and marble sculpture stands about three stories tall, with all of that heavy material it still carries its life-like organic nature. Louise Bourgeois approaches her pieces in a cerebral sense drawing from past childhood memories, mostly bringing out her traumatic experiences. “Maman” which means “mother (mama)” stands as if it is observing society itself, but the core aspect of this piece lies in Bourgeois’ symbolic representation of her mother.

            The spider represents stability, precision, and the ability to weave references of her mothers work in tapestry restoration. In some ways, it represents Bourgeois herself coming full circle with motherhood.  These qualities are also seen in her other sculptures “The Nest”, and “Crouching Spider” in which they assume a nurturing and protective role. These sculptures challenge the public’s perception of a commonly feared insect; should they walk around it or under it? Does it resonate with a childhood memory? I believe that Bourgeois challenged the public’s perception in order for them to come to terms with their fears or traumas, much like her own experiences using therapy through art.

              


Louise Bourgeois - "The Nest"

           I had the opportunity to see one of Louise Bourgeois’ spiders in person, and I was just amazed of the amount of detail and how small I felt beside it. “Maman” evokes a monstrous sense, putting us in the place of the spider feeling invaded and intimidated at the same time. This idea of swapping roles or the idea of “the shoe being on the other foot” is something we as people fail to consider often, and tend to take for granted. 

                                                             
                                                                           Louise Bourgeois - "Crouching Spider"


Louise Bourgeois - The Nest
Louise Bourgeois - Critique
Louise Bourgeois - Crouching Spider

AR3: Michael Bartalos

       

Michael Bartalos - "Capoeira Do Brasil"

            While going through the Center for the Book Arts website, I came across a piece by Michael Bartalos titled “Capoeira Do Brasil”. It’s a double-sided, three-color, letterpress printed postcard, depicting two skeletal figures dancing with human-figure shadows.  The color intensity and interactions drew my attention immediately; it places the two figures in a spotlight as they seem to be surrounded by plants and shrubs. At the same time the spotlight reveals the human intention about capoeira. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art that was invented during the time of slavery in Brazil. The slaves would pretend they where dancing but were secretly teaching each other how to defend themselves while masking the techniques in a dance form. The spotlight revealing the scene also depicts life and death, referencing the possible fate these figures could face.

            In order for one to understand the illustration they need to have some knowledge of the Brazilian culture. The history this postcard teaches us can serve as a reminder of freedom and independence, and the struggles of the Brazilian ancestors. Someone with little understanding of the culture would approach Bartalos work in a familial aspect. People usually associate dancing with a celebration, either to appease gods or to celebrate life. If it weren’t for the title I would have taken the usual approach to Bartalos piece; that one word “Capoeira” directed my focus in a big way.

            Bartalos executes his settings directly and they can either accent a meaning in a playful way (“Concerto de Toros”) or create awareness and understanding (“CalAcademy Earthquake”).  His approach to awareness spans various cultures, and can allow for viewers to develop a sort of visual road map. Bartalos enables this through the use of bold contrasting colors, and basic shapes, which creates universal symbols as seen in “CalAcademy Earthquake”.

Michael Bartalos - "CalAcademy Earthquake"                         Michael Bartalos - "Concerto de Toros"

The Center for Book Arts - Michael Bartalos
Bartalos Official Website
Bartalos Illustration

The Social Production of Art - Chapter 1 Response

       Janet Wolff touched on creative freedom and how it cannot truly be free to the artist, because of the evolving society we live in. She compared artists from the 15^th century with artists in today’s society; commercialization replaced the role of patrons.

Some of the authors main points:

·      - Various points of Lukes and Giddens were discussed in how subjects and the various components of    

         societal ideology can no longer be disposed of in a simple way.

·      - Karl Marx’s indirect associations of labor and creativity.

·      - Artist who feel that they need to distance themselves from societal norms to truly understand freedom  

          from an outsider’s perspective.

·      -How capitalism shapes the boundaries of artists to depend on commercial success that society deems 

         relevant.

       What I naturally resonated to in the author’s argument is the sense of freedom. What does it mean from a creative standpoint? The author pointed out the various conflicting elements today’s artist face from society itself; the ideological values between artists and society is at a constant clash with the ever growing demand to be commercially successful. My recent research into Albert Paley’s metal work fascinated me; he was able to pull off these massive sculptures, and yet maintain his abstract artistic freedom. Though he’s often commissioned to do work, it still has some level of limitation. From my personal metal experience, you are often bound by the boundaries set forth by the customer; they either want you to replicate a known style, or compliment another. So you limit your sense of true creative freedom to accommodate commercial success.