Enter the Dragon: On the Vernacular of Beauty

I also found this reading very difficult to understand, and I had trouble finding what point the author was trying to get across.  What I did get from the reading was that Hickey believes there is a lack of beauty in the contemporary art world.  He says that beauty is what makes art so powerful.  And if an artist can portray beauty through his/her work, he/she can be successful.  This may be totally off, but this is what I understood.  I found it confusing and hard to comprehend.

Beauty of Art

I found the reading that we read for todays class to be very confusing.  I did not really understand what the author was saying.  The only thing I took away from the piece is that art is beautiful and beauty is what sells.  However it did not seem like the author was saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to art.  I think that all art sells, all different kinds of art.  People like what they like and find what they think is beautiful, beautiful.  It seemed more like the artist was saying that the only art that sells is that which is pushed by art dealers, and those art dealers do not care about the art.  I could be completely off thought and maybe I'm just confused...

Jeff Koon Art

I found Jeff Koon's art some of my favorite that I have seen so far.  Especially the sculptures of the balloon animals.  They are very appealing, especially to children, and give life to something so simple.  I also liked the paintings that his team was working on, such as the Popeye one above.  They are very colorful and the fact that they must use such precise colors makes me realize how much time and effort is needed. But what I didn't understand was the meaning of the pool blow up animals.  What made them so significant and appealing?  Other than that, I found Jeff Koon's art interesting and creative.

The Balloon  Animal Art that Jeff Koons created is awesome.  Its so creative and unique.  He takes an everyday item and makes it huge in a stainless steal metal.  I think that as a child I would absolutely love seeing these pieces.  Most of his art seems to be very eye catching and has a childish look to it, making it fun to look at.  His art kind of reminds me of Marcel Duchamp because he started the trend by taking ordinary objects and making them into art. 

Bruce Nauman Art

I agree with what Danielle said in her entry.  I found that while watching the video on Nauman, I was not impressed or attracted to what he considers art.  I believe that his videos were not true art, and did not express himself in any way.  Also, the repetitive videos are very unappealing.  But there are some people out there that must enjoy what he does.  And if he finds joy in making his art, then he should continue doing it.  I just think that his art was not normal, but I guess that there is nothing wrong with art that is different or unusual.  

Bruce Nauman Video Art

I find it hard to understand how people find Bruce Nauman's video art to be art.  I found the video's to be lengthy and boring.  His video titled "Setting a Good Corner" is like watching an instructional video on how to build a fence.  The clown video was especially annoying and I cannot imagine walking through a gallery having to listen to that replay continually.  However I do really like his neon sign art.  They are very unique and I feel like they would go over well with a younger crowd.  The neon works very with different quotes and images that can appeal to many people. 

Satan Devouring His Sons

Satan Devouring His Sons, by Francisco Goya, really caught my attention in class. Usually when I think of art that I would like to portray, it is how I am feeling or something that makes me happy.  This work of art shows Goya's truly depressed and mentally unstable state.  What I didn't know was that he has many more paintings just like this, and it made me wonder what he could possibly be going through that makes him want to express himself in this manner.  Similar to this one, his art portrays horror and terror to the viewer.  Even though his art was not always appealing to the onlooker, it always caught people's attention.  He was very successful throughout his career.  This shows that if you express your thoughts and feelings in your work, you have the capability of it going noticed.  In this case, people commended Goya for his ability to express himself even though it was not what people expected to see.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living, was a piece that really grabbed my attention today in class.  It is a very interesting and different piece that looks like it can terrify the onlooker.  In the picture Ii looked at on the web,the shark looks fierce and ready to strike.  It is amazing to be able to see such a dangerous animal up so close and personal.  A person is able to compare themselves to the shark and really get an idea of what it would be like to go up against one.  We are never truly able to just see a shark on this level on a regular basis.  I thought that it was interesting when someone pointed out that it an ironic piece of art where the role of the victim is switched.  This particular pieces also reminded me of an exhibit that travels the world called "Bodies: The Exhibit".  The body exhibit takes humans old, young, and those with medical conditions and allows onlookers to see them in a different light.  It shows them with different layers of skin, muscles, nerves, etc.  It is similar to pieces of Damien Hirst's art, only he he uses animals instead of humans. These exhibits allow the viewer to get a unique and natural view, teaching them a lot about both the human and animal body.

Marcel Duchamp

Before this class I had never heard of Dada art, let alone Marcel Duchamp and his ready-mades. This unconventional art never really struck me as great art.  However, after doing some research on Marcel I found that he had a profound influence and helped lead the way of what modern art was and has become today.  I really found it interesting that he took pieces that we encounter in every day life and used them as art.  He thought out of the box and made people look at these ready-mades and think about these ordinary objects.  After looking up some more ready-mades that Duchamp made I really began to think about why he choose these specific objects.  What makes these objects anymore significant than any other object?  I looked up info on his ready-mades and it says Duchamp had no reason for choosing his objects he just did.  The one that I really liked was Bicycle Wheel.  He put this together because he was amused by watching the wheel go round and round.