Japonisme

Japanese ports reopened to trade with the West in 1853 and again in 1854, thanks to the US Navy Commodore Perry who forced the Tokugawa Goverment. However the trade remained very limited until (1867/68), the Togugawa era found an end in the Meiji Restoration.
>Japan opened up things that were hidden.

On the crest of that wave there were woodcut prints by masters of the Ukiyo-e which transformed a simple, transitory, everyday subjects from ''the floating world'' this was very appealing and decorative that inspired the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist. 

''The Great Wave off Kanagawa'' (15x10 inch)- Katsushika Hokusai

This is one of Hokusai's most famous prints. This image represents fears and fashion, the wave looks like fingers that are coming out from it and pick up something, in fact it represents a creepy scene. It's made up of a lot of layered images, one layer on top of another. Each colour is printed on a different wooden block. It has a lack of perspective, flat area of strong colour, compositional freedom achieved by placing subject off-centre, there's pattern, bold outlines and cropped objects.

Hokusai was born in 1760 and lived in (Yedo) -Tokyo. He was adopted, taken by a family mirror makers. He used to lend books and paint, then he became a block cutter  (fashioning woodblocks for prints), then he became a professional print designer.

There are loads of imitations of the use of the wave, like Umbrellas, fans, metal bookmark, watches and so much others.


They also converted the Fuji Wave into cartoons in different type of media (Political cartoon-newspaper, comics, graffiti, modern art, tattoos, etc.):



The author states that the woodblock Japanese prints used to be done by this technique:

"A woodblock print image is first designed by the artist on paper and then transferred to a thin, partly transparent paper. Following the lines on the paper, now pasted to a wooden block usually of cherry wood, the carver chisels and cuts to create the original in negative—with the lines and areas to be colored raised in relief. Ink is applied to the surface of the woodblock. Rubbing a round pad over the back of a piece of paper laid over the top of the inked board makes a print." (Department of Asian Art 2003, 5th Par.)


This is one of the artists that was influenced by Japanese Print in (1898) 'Chase' by William Merrit
This is a female portrait, oil on canvas, 'aka girl in blue kimono' with the dimensions of 144.78 x 113.03cm.
The blue kimono is the first thing that the eyes see, as the artist placed her in a central point of attraction. There's a lot of use with brush strokes and bright colours. The lady is positioned in a very comfortable way on the couch with cushions one on each side that balances the composition of the painting. There's the use of bright white that contrasts with the rest of the kimono complexion. There's a lot of perspective and shadows especially on the blue cushion (on the right) that gives a satin rich look, when on the other hand the grey cushion gives a dull matte look.  



 There was the World's Fair China in Paris Exposition in 1867, where the Japanese arts and crafts were introduced to the culture of the West. As also Japan were getting influenced from the West.

Exposition Universelle in (1867)

Exposition of Universelle

Parisians came into contact with Japanese arts and crafts when Japan took a
pavilion at the worlds fair of 1867.

There were also an orientation of bric- a -brac that included fans, kimonos, lacquers, bronzes and silks.


Siegfried Bing helped introducing the Japanese Art and Artworks to the West. He was a dealer and always aimed to raise the level of crafts in the West. When S.Bing also introduced Art Nouveau in Paris, this is to show that in Japan there was little difference between art and applied art. During the second empire he became well known and famous manufacturer, as he managed to manufacture the business of Ceramics that was of his father.




In 1895 he opened his gallery which he named 'Maison de l'Art Nouveau' in Paris.

In the gallery he designed all rooms in Art Nouveau style. He also included fabrics designed by William Morris 

Bedroom

Dining Room

Louise Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) was another American designer that was best known for his Stained Glass work, designed in an Art Nouveau style. His designs were applied on lamp shades, glass windows, etc. The style was influenced by nature, the Art Nouveau is very decorative and a colourful style. He also had the skills working on jewellery design, ceramics, enamels and metal work.


All works that are shown below are all from studios, museums, exhibitions and so many others.









He is very creative and ambitious to create beauty with his talent. He also experimented with painting on glass. After years of experimentation he made a series of revolutionary techniques in glass making, which he integrated with colours, textures and also created types of hand-blown glass which he called them 'Favrile'.


This is one of the Floriform Art glass Vase by L.C.Tiffany,
it's a slender stem that supports the organic body.

The Art Nouveau created a new style across Europe, Bauhaus unleashed away the curling sexual contentious art, with smart field cities that were splashed with colour and vitality as idealistic architects. Art Nouveau is a story of beauty and an ugly time, it discovered psychology in emotions.

Artists integrated elements of living organisms like animals, insects, birds, swans, dragon flies, peacocks and swallows with a symbolic meaning also in Art Nouveau the female figures were important.

Along my research on Art Nouveau I found designs that were applied on jewellery with symbolic designs, with different forms, patterns and shapes.

The is a ring designed with a dragon fly

Art Nouveau brooch with flowers and leaves and the female figure by Eugen Alfred Lelievre made with gold and diamonds.

Dragon fly with a female figure designed by one of the most famous jewellery designer, Rene Lalique

These are more furniture pictures that interested me along my research and that are inspired by Art Nouveau.


Dragonfly -side occasional table, made in solid birch hardwood


Wrought iron coffee table in Art Nouveau style

Then there's another artist whose Alphonse Mucha that produced Art Nouveau posters, adverts, paintings and designs.


The is a postcard of Alphose Mucha called ''Feather'' that was made in 1899
He created a simple postcard with designs that include leaves and vector decorative ornaments. He used calm colours and simple designs. The female figure gives the importance to the feather that creates simplicity and represents the bird that was something  symbolic to Art Nouveau style.

This is another work of his that is a poster, called ''Salon des Cent, Mucha Exhibition June 1897''.


This poster shows a graphical use with colour and decorative design and curvy lines. The font is designed in an Art Nouveau style that accomplish with the rest of the poster. The poster includes shading, outlines and flowers that all combine together with the style. The poster itself with the female figure shows a thinking emotion about the patterned, circles drawing/ painting that she is representing on the front.   

The influences of Japanese Art on Van Gogh

Van Gogh made his own versions of Hiroshige's work like the one called ''Sudden Shower at Atake'' and the other one called ''Flowering Plum Tree'' that were made in 1857. Hiroshige originals side by side with Vincent's copies.

''Sudden Shower at Atake''

Hiroshige's work shows an intense colour and flat surfaces. He created dramatic angles positions and reality composition. The black clouds represent the heavy rain and people on the bridge are escaping from the rain going to both different indications. There's an imprecise treatment of space and lack of modeling.There's also a strong use of quivering lines with the rain.  Van Gogh on his copy in oil created the border frame using the Japanese writing to make it look more exotic, although he didn't know a word in their language he wanted to represent it in a Japanese style. 

''Flowering Plum Tree''

This  is another copy that Van Gogh created using the same technique of the border frame like he did in the painting of ''Sudden Shower at Atake''. The lines of the branches are going to different directions. Hiroshige created the branch in a close up set, and then he continued creating the rest of the vision at the back of the bold branch.

I link Hiroshige's technique of work (cropping) with the work Edgar Degas  'The Orchestra at the Opera', 1870. 
The  heads of the dancers on the stage are cut even corners. The space is compressed with musicians. Degas has put the musician in the central of the composition in the orchestra to show the tradition. The techniques of Hiroshige's and Degas are very similar in their techniques. The painting has a precised and detailed areas with musicians and their instruments. On the other hand the dancers are  painted in a very sketchy method. 


The orchestra at the opera made in oil on canvas, 56.5 x 46.2cm in the gallery of Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France, (1869/70).




Reference:
C.Ives,2004.''Japonisme''. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. [Online] Available at: <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jpon/hd_jpon.htm> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Department of Asian Art, 2003. ''Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo-e style''. In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000- [Online] Available at: <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ukiy/hd_ukiy.htm> [Accessed 20th March 2014]


Japan-Guide.com, 2002. Edo Period (1603-1867). [Online] Available at: <http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2128.html> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Japan-Guide.com, 2002. Meiji Period (1868-1912). [Online] Available at: <http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2128.html> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Art Videos and Documentaries, 2014. ''Hokusai''. [Video Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sM5fT8_S7s> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

C.Herbert, 2014. Art Nouveau Artists: Louis Comfort Tiffany. [Online] Available at: <http://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/bid/73246/Art-Nouveau-Artists-Louis-Comfort-Tiffany> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Life and Discover, 2014.The History of Art Nouveau- Painting/Drawing/ Artist (Documentary). [Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O34YVQsFiWY> [Accessed 20th March 2014]
1Movielinks, 2013.BBC Documentary The Allure of Art Nouveau. [Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PHHhmLA8Sg> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

s.n., n.d.Collection Asian Art: Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake (Ohashi Atake no Yudachi), no. 58 from one hundred famous views of Edo -Brooklyn Museum. [Online] Available at: <http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/121666/Sudden_Shower_Over_Shin-Ohashi_Bridge_and_Atake_Ohashi_Atake_no_Yudachi_No._58_from_One_Hundred_Famous_Views_of_Edo> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

VintageArtPosters, 2000-2014. Flowering Plum Tree (after Hiroshige) Van Gogh. [Online] Available at: <http://www.zazzle.co.uk/flowering_plum_tree_after_hiroshige_van_gogh_poster-228171908347056865> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Legal information, 2006. Edgar Degas The Orchestra at the Opera. [Online] Available at: <http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/painting/commentaire_id/the-orchestra-at-the-opera-2954.html?cHash=293ac4ca32> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Barry and Addrianna Doyle, 2012. Barry Doyle Design Jewellers -Rene Lalique. [Blog] 23 October, Available at: <http://barrydoyledesign.blogspot.com/2012/10/rene-lalique.html> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Poul Webb, 2013. Art and Artists -Alphonse Mucha. [Blog] 12 April, Available at: <http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2013/04/alphonse-mucha-part-3.html> [Accessed 20th March 2014]

Arts and Crafts Movement

The Arts and Crafts movement came out during the late Victorian period in England,  which was the hit of industrialization of that time. The industrial life gave a strong and positive revaluation of hand-craftsmanship and extensive capital forms of culture and society.

Arts and Crafts designers were improving their liberated decorative designs into mechanism to create beautiful environments of fine results. 

The three important reformers of that time were A.W.N Pugin (1812-52) whose a designer and wrote the provided of the foundation of the later development of the Arts and Crafts (Gothic Revival), then there's John Ruskin (1819-1900) whose a theorist and art critic, which also urged on medieval architecture models and the last is William Morris (1834-1896) who wanted to reform the society by dividing the industrialization between a designer and the manufacturer until he will unite the arts into more simplicity forms and emphasize on nature.

Pugin rejected the early Victorian Vogue for Classical Architecture in favour of a revival of Medieval Gothic.

This documentary clearly explains how the Industrial Revolution evolved to the style of the Gothic Revival of people's palaces. It also describes the three important reformers, which one them is Pugin. It explains into more depth in their developments (sketches of Architecture) and other targets for the revival. (It's 1 from 4 documentaries).

 


The pictures below are works of Architecture and Designs dedicated to different places, made by Pugin. Their style is all based on the Gothic style, with  decorative forms, pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses, in fact the main elements of Gothic Architecture are the Buttress, the Pointed Arch and the gargoyles. 

Pugin's drawing of a transverse section of a church

Gatehouse in Gothic Revival Style using Vertical Lines and Pointed Arches

Four designs by A.W.N Pugin for the houses of Parliament

Church Tiles designed by Pugin (hand-drawn and coloured cherubim)

The picture below is representing the architecture ''St. Patrick's Cathedral'' of James Renwick, Jr. whose one of the designers that based on the Gothic Revival. The building took eight year to be built, as they started working in 1859. As one can see it's all designed with pointed arches meeting each other from one side to another, it also has the straight Corinthian columns with straight long pipes designed on it around and those classic medieval gothic furniture.

St. Patrick's Cathedral -New York by J. Renwick, Jr.

Another designer such as Owen Jones whose a designer, architect and a writer he publish the manual book called 'The Grammar of Ornament' 1856, has popularized exotic designs with his patterns in the catalogue and are used on wallpaper fabrics and furniture designs.

'The Grammar of Ornament' -Owen Jones

This for example is one of his interior designs that he created for Osler's Gallery, Oxford St, London 1859. The structure of the roof is designed in a classic medival gothic style taken from the tracery design, decorated with mirrors and vector chandeliers coming down from the roof, also with bright lights coming in from the squared painted glass.   

Owen Jones Interior Design 1859

The things that were invented at that time are; the blast furnace which is used for smelting and produce industrial metals, print works, textile mills, elevator, cash register, type writer, roller coaster

Medieval Blast Furnace

Print Works

The First Roller Coaster called the 'Switchback Railway' (made in wood) in 1884

In that stream, middle classes were expanding (Business men) and style started being eclectic, for example Gothic-Rococo-Imitations and Reproduction were being common.

John Ruskin is also another architecture who wanted to re-unite the designer and craftsman. European design was concerned with ornamentation harking back to the Renaissance. As American designs was mass produced more functional better made simple designs to everyday objects. 

John Ruskin

This is one of the books that John Ruskin wrote -'The Stones of Venice (1874),
it bases on the column designs he created through out sketches and studies,
a variety of different arches,  decorations coming out from stone, different patterns
engraved, a lot of Gothic traceries and so much other information that he included.

 'The Stones of Venice' (1874) by J. Ruskin 

Ruskin started taking revolutionary ideas in the form of metaphors, nature was one of the main subjects. He started developing his studies from paintings like the ones of the Pre Raphaelites revolution which base on designs with flourish designs and showing different types of leaves together with repetitive pattern.   

These are some examples of sketches and patterns that Ruskin based on:

Different type of patterns coming from the leaves
at the top/bottom of a column

Different styles of Gothic Traceries

Different patterns taken from the book of -'The Gothic Architecture' (1854)

Explanation of A, B, C

A, Greek: Architecture of Lintel
B, Romanesque: Architecture of the Round Arch
C, Gothic: Architecture of the Gabel

The architects and designers of the Gothic period enjoyed complete freedom of expression in their work.

Condemned the machine oriented society of Victorian Britain. Machinery destroyed creativity. Ornaments made by hand believed that they were the genuine articles which possessed the real beauty of craftsman ship and not the machines that made mass production of counterparts.

Ruskin believed that any building or object must be created with enjoyment to be of value. There was individuality in artistic creations.

There was a drop in the quality of the product as nothing of the designs were being made by the artists or craftsmen but with machines, although the prices were more affordable.





 The structure of the Great Exhibition was designed by Joseph Paxton that was prefabricated with glass and iron. It was nicknamed the 'Crystal Palace'. The US then emerged in the industrial mass production which was created with assembly lines. The mass production was all made with stylistic variety that the machine produced with same designs. 

The Great Exhibition (1851)

 The purpose of this Exhibition was to bring together exhibits from all over the world.



William Morris is an educationist, theorist, writer and lecturer. His main target was to produce beautiful things. He didn't like the modern civilization, fought against the 'inhuman' conditions mass production and founded the Art and Crafts Movement.

William Morris

He is best known for his pattern designs, particularly on fabrics and wallpapers. He used to link art to the industry by applying his fine art to the production of commercial designs. His sources were plants themselves, observed in his garden or on country walks, also images of plants from different centuries including herbals. He had his own company called Morris & co. that produces his designs worked handmade that cost a lot of money. He created these effects of wallpaper and fabrics with textiles incorporated.

Cray Furnishing Fabric (1885)

Decorative Design for Trellis Wallpaper (1862) inpired from the Pre Raphaelites style by W. Morris

Artichoke embroidery (1890) by William Morris

Morris has designed over 50 wallpapers for decorations and luxurious wall covering. He has designed more formal and didactic designs for patterns with stylized coloured organic forms and motifs from nature that Jones and Pugin never did.

William Morris was also inspired by Medieval Art, natural motifs and colours, figuration and high pattern. He can be considered as the pioneer of Modern Graphics.




 The House of Emanuel Ungaro (1965) opened up his creative talents. As he moved to Paris at the age of 22 and started his apprenticeship there. After he experienced and learned the rigor and perfectionism, he opened his own label with elegant and provocative feminine looks.

Fashion Designer -Emanuel Ungaro

'Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things' is the name of an exhibition that shows everyday objects. Fashion was considered as an '' everyday objects''. The exhibition shows it through the outfits that fashion collector, Jill Ritblat, donated them to the Museum.

Fashion

Silk Dress (1986) by Emanuel Ungaro

These designs are created by Emanuel Ungaro in 1986. The design he created (in the photo on the right) is very colourful, patterned with flourish designs, decorated with small black buttons and pleated effect, reminded me of the wallpapers and fabric designs that William Morris created in a very colourful and patterned style. As also Emanuel Ungaro used an unexpected combination of sensual clashes of bright colours and prints on beautiful drapes.       





In 1891, Morris founded the Kelmscott Press. The Kelmscott Press produced a high quality hand-printed books. Morris designed and cut typefaces, ornamental borders, and title pages which were based on the style of medieval manuscripts, as the illustrations were being created by the Pre-Raphaelites artist, Edward Burne-Jones. Books were being printed on handmade paper and bounded in vellum. 

'The Nature of Gothic' by W. Morris, Printed by Kelmscott Press (1892- 1898)

The book of 'The Nature in Gothic' by William Morris has been inspired by Ruskin whose writing influenced the Arts and Crafts movement by encouraging the revival of Gothic art and architecture. After the death of Morris a revival of a private press has inspired them across Europe and America that had influences and developed the typography and graphic design in the early 20th century.



Reference:
M.Obniski, 2008.''The Arts and Crafts Movement in America'' In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. [Online] Available at:<http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/acam/hd_acam.htm> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

Art Documentaries, 2010. 1/4 People Places: The Gothic Revival. [Video Online] Availabe at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg9e-KAyLmg> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

St. Louis Public Library, 2005. Gothic Revival - Revitalizing Medieval Forms. [Online] Available at: <http://exhibits.slpl.org/steedman/data/Steedman240089156.asp?thread=240091126> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

Leland A.Cook, 1994-2014. St.Patrick's Cathedral. [Online] Available at: <http://www.ny.com/holiday/stpatricks/cathedral.html> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

. Coney Island- Historic Roller Coaster. [Online] Available at: <http://www.westland.net/coneyisland/articles/coasterlist.htm> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2013. Owen Jones. [Online] Available at: <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/305960/Owen-Jones> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

J.Ruskin, 2009. The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Stones Of Venice, Volume II (of 3), by John Ruskin . [Online] Available at: <http://www.gutenberg.org/files/30755/30755-h/30755-h.htm> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

Visit Bedford Country, 2012. 3 - Gothic Revival - The Architecture Tour. [Video Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KMcR-I-uFo> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

P.Webb, 2012.William Morris Wallpaper and Textile. Art and Artists, [Blog] 30 January. Available at: <http://poulwebb.blogspot.com/2012/01/william-morris-wallpaper-textiles.html> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

ArtyFactory, 2014. William Morris - Arts and Crafts Movement. [Online] Available at: <http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/graphic_designers/william_morris.html> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

Goosebumbs team, 2013. Extraordinary Stories About Ordinary Things -The Design Museum Collection.  [Online] Available at: <http://goosebumpsmag.com/2013/01/30/extraordinary-stories-about-ordinary-things/> [Accessed 13th March 2014]

Impressionism -Art

Impressionism began in the late 1860's in France with a group of friends. The group included Manet, Pissarro, Sisley and Degas, they called themselves the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Engravers, and so on. In 1814 they exhibited together at the photographer Nadar's former Studio.

Nadar Studio at 35 Boulevard des Capucines

 The building was modern and the paintings were too. Pictures of contemporary life painted in a technique that looked unfinished to the art critics and general public.


The seeds of Impressionism were sewn in the early 1860's by Manet, who stopped following traditions.

Oil On Canvas 54 x 65cm The Grand Canal of Venice (1875) -Edouard Manet

 Manet made this painting during a trip to Venice in 1875. He used bright colours, mostly based on blue. He also used broken brushstrokes technique to create that reflection in the water, it also represents the mood of a nice and calm day in summer. In the painting the artist created a focal point that goes on boat, this is because he painted it smoothly and realistic when everywhere around has that sort of texture of the brush and lines of the poles leading your eyes to the centre.

I link Manet's painting with Claude Monet -'Bathing at La Grenouillere'

Oil on white primed Canvas 73 x 93cm Bathing at La Grenouillere (1869) - Monet Claude

 This popular place which is found in the west of Paris is known for rest and relaxation. There's a capture of light in water and is also seen from contemporary life subject. There's a cool shade of the trees that contrasted with the shine bright of the sunlight to the open water of the river. The figures are sketched in with the brush. The brush marks indicate the wideness of each stroke, that are between 1-2cm each, of course from one to another the stroke size varies.  The brush work is strongly descriptive, catching the character of different forms that's what I mostly find similar from Manet's work to Monet's of this decade.    


Manet was struck by Japanese prints as Charles Baudelaire encouraged him to be a 'painter of modern life'.

In the century that followed the true value of his work became appreciated across the world. The inspiration he gave to the impressionists to lone makes Edouard Manet one of the greatest figures in the history of art.

Impressionism is characterized by its interest in the effects of light. Light gives the main of the subject in fact colour and light are directly linked. 


Impressionists painters depicted scenes from daily life like the artists that painted 'en plain-air', paintings were normally small to allow for completion on the spot, like the one of Alfred Sisley 'Flood at port-Marly' (1876). 

'Flood at port-Marly' (1876) -A. Sisley

 This is a landscape painting by Sisley. The painting permits the capture of fleeting moments. It's representing the reflection of light in water and rain heavy sky, the colour is muted  with touch of tones. The brushstrokes show different textures of light and of the landscape. Sisley composed his view into a frame with square blocks of pigment in the window panes. He used the trees on the right to balance the tall mass of the building. The dark figures with small boats help our eye mark the distance into background. 

'The Art and Life' (1926-2011) -George Fenech 

Here I linked the work with a Maltese artist, George Fenech which used the category of landscaping but as you directly notice the technique way he used was with a thick brush stroke which results to boldness. The artist created shadows on building that shows were the sun is directing.



The Impressionists were strongly influenced by the Realists who had moved away from the themes of academic art.

Oil on Cnvas 466 x 773cm 'The Romance of Decadence' (1847) -Thomas Couture

In the painting Couture has placed a group of debauched revelers, exhausted and disillusioned or still drinking and dancing. They were greedy and packed with food, they were also a culture of waste because they were living in the middle class luxury. The architecture around them are all uprights and horizontal that created a perfect geometry. But the figures are in an indulgent positions with curves, horizontal and arabesque. It feels like there's no space. In the painting there's also a clarity of line and shadow in the foreground.  




Impressionists were also influenced by the Japanese Prints. They were simple and bold Japanese woodblock print: Bright handling of colours, imrecise treatment of space and lack of modeling with diagonal lines in them.

Monet wasn't the only artist that was influenced by Japanese prints. Van Gogh made his own version of Hiroshige's 'Sudden Shower at Atake'. 

Two versions of 'Sudden Shower at Atake' -Hiroshige and Van Gogh

West was influenced by Japanese art and Western art had a huge influence on Japanese print makers. So the century turned to two new movements in Japanese print making. Bright handling colours and precision of space with lack of modelling was born.

Developments in Photography also influenced the Impressionists.

The first experiment with photography took 8 hours long of exposure, this was in 1826.

World's First Photograph

Here I put a video from youtube called 'World's Oldest Photographs' with the old photographs included will give you a hint of information about it, of what's going on in the picture and the name including the date of it. I found this interesting because from a year to another you'll see what going and the difference between a photograph to another.

In 1880 George Eastman enabled him to direct his Eastman Kodak company, this was the first invention of films (cameras), which helped photography to get to the mainstream. 

This is a brief history of George Eastman that describes in detail the process of how the photography used to be worked out, it follows his life and career and all his revolutionary impact on Photography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfhsM15nElM

  
Paris was the centre of artistic activity, several artists visited Paris and acquired knowledge of Impressionism whilst there.




Reference:
Beth Gersh-Nesic, 2014. The First Impressionists Exhibition-1874. [Online] Available at: <http://arthistory.about.com/od/first_eight_exhibitions/a/first_Impressionism_exhibition.htm> [Accessed 6th March 2014]

 Wikimedia Commons, 2012. The Grand Canal of Venice (Blue Venice). [Online] available at: <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_grand_canal_of_Venice_%28Blue_Venice%29_-_Edouard_Manet.png> [Accessed 6th March 2014]

Web Museum,Paris, 2002. 'Bathing at La Grenouillere' - Monet Claude. [Online] Available at: <http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/early/bathing/> [Accessed 6th March 2014]

M.Power, 2010. 'Worlds Oldest Photography'. [Video Online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LkaFCa29mQ> [Accessed 6th March 2014]

Tools to Inpire Imagination, 2004-14. History of Photography: Niepce Pictures. [Online] Available at: <http://akvis.com/en/articles/photo-history/niepce.php> [Accessed 6th March 2014]

. About Kodak -George Eastman. [Online] Available at: <http://www.kodak.com/ek/US/en/Our_Company/History_of_Kodak/George_Eastman.htm> [Accessed 6th March 2014]

Musee d'Orsay, 2006. Thomas Couture- Romans during the Decadence .[Online] Available at: <http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/search/commentaire/commentaire_id/romans-during-the-decadence-2105.html?no_cache=1&cHash=ca15e83794> [Accessed 6th March 2014]

Exhibition 2 -Xebgħa Nies (Throng of People) / -Eccentricks

Date of Visit: 05/03/2014
Name of Practitioner: Paul Scerri
Title of Exhibition: Xebgħa Nies

Close View

Full Scale View

'Who am I?'
Medium used: 3D work in Ceramics

What I have found interesting in this 3D sculpture is the meaning of the key and the question that is asking 'Who am I?'. This can be very philosophical and one can see many different aspects in it. The artist has left us with a question without an answer.
Many thoughts passed through my mind about this sculpture, so original. The key on her wrist is the answer to it all. If one looks through the key hole who knows what one can see?

The lady has no eyes, from this the artist lets you free to a wide imagination. As eyes can lead you to a lot of emotions and feelings.

The way the artist has structured the figure is very simple. The dull colour of this figure represents someone not able to react.

Full Scale View

Close View

'A Taxidermist's dream' - Stuff them all before extinction
Medium used: 3D work in Ceramics

Here the artist is representing a figure with a beak mask on his face. My first thought when I looked at the sculpture and looked down to the given name that says 'A Taxidermist's dream' is that the figure is imitating an animal because he would like to be it or another thought that came up in my mind was that he would like to gain as much as he can for the collection before they will be all gone.

On the figures chest one can see four other beaks that may represent the nest or may represent the passion for that particular animal.

Full Scale View

Close View

'The Braggart' - Open your Mind before your Mouth
Medium used: 3D work in Ceramics

This sculpture has a good lesson from it's meaning of the given title 'The Braggart', after that it also says -Open your Mind before your Mouth. This is leading us to a significant meaning not to show-off or not to have bigmouths in other words. Sometimes people talk before they think and that can be effected both as an advantage and a disadvantage action, but in this case the artist seems like he is directing it to the viewers to make us more conscious about it.  





Thoughts and Comments:

I found this artists work interesting because every sculpture has a good meaning and faces the reality of the society around us. The artist exhibited these sculptures with an action and a hint of what it is about in the title. Each and one of them lead you to an open imagination, as the artist didn't specify what each of one is there for. Everyone can answer you with his/her different thought and opinion of what they think about it. I really enjoyed my time there in the exhibition studying, analyzing and took my time thinking why is it there? what is the artist trying to say? and so much other questions that I tried to figure them out myself.

I particularly chose three from seven sculptures because I've seen that those were the most three that caught my eye and seen something particular in them that helped me to develop further more my imagination and might create something else in the future from his influences by the Maltese artist Paul Scerri's work.

From Scerri's sculpture works that have been worked in ceramics I only experimented with glazes and forms. One of the forms I created was a sphere made in ceramics which is a beginning or a start of creating the head of a human body like in this theme of the exhibition shows the characteristics with half bodies, then they have the finishing touch with different coloured glazes. There are some that have the shine on them which is called oxide and part of them are matt that will be covered only with glaze.





Date of Visit: 05/03/2014
Name of Practitioner: Emannuel Bonnici
Title of Exhibition: Eccentricks

Plan

Full Scale View

'Duo'
Medium used: Wood and Paint

Here we can see a creative functional work influenced from an old Maltese traditional cart developed into another old wooden swinging chair which reminded me of my grandmas. This artist created lines everywhere some are straight, some are curved and others are round.
The cart wooden rims on both sides has some curved design lines that attracts ones attention as they look like spikes.
The scale of this cart is of a big man size (in my opinion). The colour is green which relaxes ones eyes the minute you see it, makes you feel calm and confident. Although it is designed with lines, they all continue and make sense one next to the other.

Full Scale View

Plan

 
'Duo'
Medium used: Wood and Paint

This is another duo that means it's 2 in 1. Here we can see a WC formed in another Maltese traditional fishing boat called 'Luzzu' with the eye in front that signifies to have a safe journey.
This is quite original and something that is designed differently using traditional objects.

The colours used are almost the same like those of the 'luzzu' with blue, brown, yellow, white and green.The size of the WC is of a large scale, the artist here wanted to impress with exaggeration of the normal human size objects.



Thoughts and Comments:

This artist has exhibited an original enthralling work. He linked everyday Maltese traditional 'objects' with another object which he combined them together and created something original using an artistic mind. His work inspired me from using exaggeration in his craftsmanship work . 

Bonnici's work is with wood. The techniques I used from his work is the colour and finishing. I applied the colour on wood with spray to come neater and then used the undercoat + the base coat for a fine finish and gloss.