Category Archives: Coursework

Write 10 sentences containing any of the following words: origin, original or originality. Is the meaning much the same in each example or are there significant differences? Briefly comment on your findings.

1. Stephen Hawking often discussed theories about the origin of the universe.
2. Many film companies are turning to origin stories to create new films in their franchise.
3. She moved back to her country of origin.
4. They questioned whether the Picasso painting was an original.
5. I need to see the original copy of the manuscript.
6. The fashion designer had some original ideas.
7. The new version of the film was not very good. I much preferred the original.
8. I was impressed by the originality of her performance.
9. “Originality is the best form of rebellion” (Mike Sasso)
10. We thought that her painting expressed a lot originality.

The three words (origin, original, originality) used in the sentence examples all have some reference to the new, first, or beginning of something. However, there are differences in the meaning of each word.

Origin refers to the point where something (e.g person, object, tradition) begins, arises or is derived. (Lexico online dictionary accessed 22/02/2020). Original (noun)refers to an object or creation. This is the earliest form or first version of something from which copies can be made Cambridge dictionary online accessed 22/02/2020). Originality refers to the quality or state of something created/invented as being original (Merriam Webster online accessed 22/02/2020).

Bibliography

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/origin (Accessed 22/02/2020)

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/original (Accessed 22/02/2020)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Originality (Accessed 22/02/2020)

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/5317724.Mike_Sasso (Accessed 22/02/2020)

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/origin (Accessed 22/02/2020)

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/originality (Accessed 22/02/2020)

Find and collate 10 diverse examples of meta-painting from the 17th Century to the present.

Meta-painting

A meta-painting can be described as a painting that shows or suggests awareness of itself – it is a painting about ‘painting’. Lorenzo Pericolo(2013:12) states that ‘..meta-painting is the whole gamut of pictorial devices through which painting stages its fictiveness’. A meta-painting can partially uncover its materiality through suggesting or depicting its maker or the making of the painting. It can involve ‘the beholder as an active or even indispensable component of the image’ (Pericolo 2013:12); or incorporate a painting or paintings as an object of representation within the image. This inner picture or pictures can be described to be ‘nesting’ inside the outer picture (Mitchell 2006).

W.J.T Mitchell also explains ,when describing a ‘metapicture’, that the image can reflect or double itself – the same picture reappears inside the picture. This is known as the ‘mise en abine’. He also states that another form of metapicture or metapainting is:

‘The picture that is framed, not inside another picture, but within a discourse that reflects on it as an exemplar of ‘picturality’ as such.’ (Mitchell 2006)

This feels like quite a big statement from Mitchell and perhaps goes a little far because the implications of this would suggest that any picture can become a meta-picture. We could reference this idea of meta-painting in the realms of Clement Greenberg’s theory of abstract modernist painting. Modernist paintings were self-referential and drew attention to the nature of its medium -canvas, paint, texture and shape. Writer Ronald B Richard argues that all abstract paintings are meta-paintings as they emphasise the process of creation. This is supported by the earlier description of meta-paintings that partially uncover their materiality through suggesting or depicting its maker or the making of the painting.

Examples of meta-painting form the 17th Century to the present

1. ‘Las Meninas‘ (1656) Diego Velázquez

‘Las Meninas’ by Diego Velázquez is considered a masterpiece of Western painting. Painted for King Phillip IV of Spain in the 17th Century, Velázquez depicts a scene in his palace studio whereby the artist himself is seen in the process of painting alongside the King’s daughter Margaret and her court aides. The viewer is placed in an interesting position and is the source of the gaze for Velazquez, Margaret and several others in the room. Reflected in the mirror at the back of the room is the King and Queen which suggests that the viewpoint is from the King or Queen as they pose for their portrait perhaps awaiting Margaret to join them.

The presence of Velázquez himself indicates that the ‘Les Meninas’ is an early example of a meta-painting. The artist is shown in the creative process of creating his masterpiece . We are placed within the artists studio that has walls covered in paintings (the two at the back are copies of two Reubens paintings). This painting is definitely about the world of painting and gives us an insight into not what the artist sees when creating a portrait but what the sitter sees whilst the process occurs.

2. ‘The Art of Painting’ (ca. 1667) Johannes Vermeer

In this meta-painting by Vermeer, we are again viewing a painting about the creation and creator of a portrait painting. However, unlike ‘Las Meninas’‘ the viewer is positioned behind the painter (Vermeer) and allowed to see the staging of the scene and the object of representation – in this case a young girl holding a book and an instrument. We can peer over Vermeer’s shoulder and see the careful brushstrokes on his canvas as he takes in his subject matter.

3. ‘Reverse side of a painting’ (1670) Cornelius Gijsbrechts

On first viewing of Gijsbrechts Reverse Side of a Painting, I was convinced this was a 20th Century modern painting and not from the 17th Century! What we are viewing in this meta-painting is a realistic depiction of the back of a framed canvas, complete with a sales room ticket attached. The detail is extraordinary and includes the wooden inner and outer frames with splits in the wood and small nails surrounding the inner canvas. We, as the viewer are fooled into believing that this is a real painting but hung the wrong way round.

The artist has depicted the materiality of his craft. Viewers believe that they are looking at the physical materials that construct the framed canvas. Gijsbrechts was part of a group of 17th-century Dutch still-life painters known as ‘betriegertje (little trickster). Their aim was to decieve the viewer with their paintings of paintings.

4. ‘Gallery at the Louvre‘ (1831-33) Samuel F.B Morse

In Morse’s meta-painting of the Louvre, we are thrust into the institution of the art gallery and exposed to numerous classic paintings displayed on the walls including works by Titian and Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. We are able to view paintings within the painting itself as well as experience the social institution of the gallery. Within the gallery are artists in the process of painting or drawing, presumably inspired by the surrounding masterpieces.

5.’The Treachery of Images‘, (1929) Rene Magritte

Magritte’s surrealist painting ‘The treachery of Images’ is quite an interesting meta-painting because it invites the viewer to contemplate what they are looking at – a pipe or a painting? The words beneath the painting of a pipe state in French – ‘This is not a pipe.’ Yet it is not clear whether this refers to the writing or the image of a pipe. The writing is not a pipe but also the image is not a pipe because it is purely the representation of a pipe using oil paints on canvas. However, it is a pipe because we perceive it as one even though we know that it is a painting!

6. ‘Droste’s Cacao‘ (1904) Jan Misset

The effect of ‘mise en abine’ refers to an image that recursivley places a copy of itself within itself (often infinitely) and is most commonly found in photography. This type of picture often known as the ‘Droste’ effect originate from the tins of Dutch Droste cocoa from the early 20th Century. The nurse in the tins image is holding a tin that shows a repeated and recursive image.

7. ‘The face of war‘ (1940) Salvador Dali

I believe that ‘The Face of War’ by Surrealist artist Salvador Dali could be seen as a meta-painting displaying the effect of ‘mise en abine’. This unnerving face most likely refers to the horrors experienced in the Spanish Civil war. Our eyes are drawn to the face of death with its eye sockets and mouth wide open with its infinite recurring image. In the bottom right of the painting, we can also see the imprint of Dali’s hand revealing and suggesting the presence of creator.

8. ‘Las Meninas’ (1957) Pablo Picasso

During the year 1957, Picasso created 44 paintings inspired by Diego Velázquez’s Las Meninas (1656). This version is perhaps the one that recreates the scene most faithfully to the original. Picasso sticks to a black, white and grey palette and keeps the original figures in a similar position. We have already discussed the original Las Meninas as being a meta-painting and now we have a 20th Century painting based upon a painting that is about painting! A meta-meta painting!

9.‘Brushstrokes’ (1965) Roy Lichtenstein

In this pop-art example of a meta-painting, Lichtenstein depicts the making of a painting. We can see the artist’s hand clutching the paint brush just after they have roughly placed red paint on a surface. We are viewing a close up and intimate moment between the painter and their painting.

10. ‘Letter on the Blind 11’ (2014) Frank Stella

This last example of what might controversially be termed a ‘meta-painting’ was created by Frank Stella in 2014. As an abstract non-representational artwork, the viewer is conscious that they are looking at a painting. The use of materials becomes apparent as the artist has emphasised the canvas’s shape by using geometric lines to construct the pattern within. Recurring and diminishing squares create a ‘mise en abine’ effect as our eyes are drawn to the centre of the canvas.

Reflections

This was a really enjoyable exercise. It was interesting to learn about different paintings from different periods and explore how they can be defined as meta-paintings. I tried to include a diverse range of paintings and couldn’t resist adding an abstract one at the end as I thought the idea that abstract paintings could be meta-paintings was an intriguing concept.

List of illustrations

Fig 1. Velázquez, D. (1656) Las Meninas [oil on canvas] At https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-centuries-people-las-meninas (Accessed 17/02/2020)

Fig 2. Vermeer, J. (ca 1667) The Art of Painting [oil on canvas] At https://www.nature.com/articles/palcomms201768 (Accessed 17/02/2020)

Fig 3. Gijsbrechts, C. (1670) Trompe l’oeil. Reverse Side of a Painting [oil on canvas] At https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cornelius_Norbertus_Gijsbrechts_-_Trompe_l%27oeil._The_Reverse_of_a_Framed_Painting_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg (Accessed 17/02/2020)

Fig 4. Morse, S.F.B. (1831-33) Gallery at the Louvre [oil on canvas] At https://www.terraamericanart.org/what-we-offer/our-art-collection/terra-collection-initiative-samuel-f-b-morses-gallery-of-the-louvre-and-the-art-of-invention/ (Accessed 18/02/2020)

Fig 5. Magritte, R. (1929) The Treachery of Images [oil on canvas] At https://www.renemagritte.org/the-treachery-of-images.jsp (Accessed 18/02/2020)

Fig 6. Misset, J. (1904) Droste’s Cacao At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droste_effect (Accessed 18/02/2020)

Fig 7. Dali, S. (1940) The face of war [oil on canvas] At https://www.dalipaintings.com/the-face-of-war.jsp (Accessed 18/02/2020)

Fig 8. Picasso, P. (1957)  The Maids of Honor (Las Meninas, after Velázquez) [oil on canvas] At http://web.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/picasso/artworks/maids_of_honor (Accessed 18/02/2020)

Fig. 9 Lichtenstein (1965) Brushstrokes [screen-print on paper] At https://www.singulart.com/en/collection/inspired-by-roy-lichtenstein-1189 (Accessed 19/02/2020)

Fig 10. Stella, F. (2014) Letter on the Blind 11′ [offset lithograph] At https://www.sartle.com/artwork/letter-on-the-blind-ii-frank-stella (Accessed 19/02/2020)

Bibliography

Finch, C. (s.d) Gallery at the Louvre, Morse code Art net At http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/finch/mccoullough-morse-gallery-at-the-louvre-4-13-11.asp (Accessed 19/02/2020)

Gronstad, A. & Vagnes, O. (2006) What do pictures want? Interview with W.J.T. Mitchell Image & Narrative, (November 2006)At https://www.visual-studies.com/interviews/mitchell.html (Accessed 19/02/2020)

Guggenheim, Comparative works The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation 2012 At http://web.guggenheim.org/exhibitions/picasso/artworks/maids_of_honor (Accessed 19/02/2020)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droste_effect

https://www.dalipaintings.com/the-face-of-war.jsp

https://www.renemagritte.org/the-treachery-of-images.jsp

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/lichtenstein-brushstroke-p07354

Lesser, C. (2018) Centuries Later, People Still Don’t Know What to Make of “Las Meninas” Artsy Mar 23, 2018 At https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-centuries-people-las-meninas (Accessed 19/02/2020)

Pericolo, L. (2013) What is Metapainting? The self-aware image Twenty Years Later At https://www.academia.edu/16776812/What_is_Metapainting_The_Self-Aware_Image_Twenty_Years_Later

Richardson, R.B. (2011) Abstract paintings are metapaintings At http://ronaldbrichardson.com/metafiction/abstract-paintings-are-meta-paintings/ (Accessed 19/02/2020)

Web Gallery of art GIJSBRECHTS, Cornelis Norbertus Reverse side of a painting At https://www.wga.hu/html_m/g/gijsbrec/cornelis/reverse.html (Accessed 18/02/2020)

Can you see a connection between Emerson’s remarks and the view expressed by Searle in Chapter One? Where do their views overlap and where do they differ?

Ralph Waldo Emerson	Similarities	John Searle
Two things make up the world; Human history – (artefacts) and natural phenomena. The passage of time illustrates that nature is static and the culture of humans is trans-formative.	There is a natural world that exists and would exist regardless of humanity’s existence.	There are portions of the world that exist due to human agreement (objective facts such as money and nations) and portions of the world that exist regardless of humans (brute facts -the natural world e.g rivers, mountains)
‘Art’ is defined as the uses humans make of ‘nature’. “Nature, in the common sense, refers to essences unchanged by man; space, the air, the river, the leaf. Art is applied to the mixture of his will with the same things, as in a house, a canal, a statue, a picture.” (Emerson, 1883)	There is a definite distinction between nature and the man made world /reality.	Social reality is constructed by us to serve our purposes.
Nature is not constructed by humans but it is expressed through them. Man is the ‘transparent eyeball’ viewing unity of nature and self. A spirit/energy eminates throughout the universe. Art as a means of ‘revelation’ – artist as prophet or seer. (Allen & Handley 2018)		Consciousness is a biological and physical consequence of evolution.
Natural facts are seen as symbols of spiritual facts. Nature is a metaphor of the human mind.
Outer creation (nature) gives us language for the inner creation (the soul). ‘Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact.’ Nature and not humans form the true basis for morality.	Language is important for humanity.	Institutional facts are language dependent. The development of language in the human species allowed us to create words that represented and symbolised something. Formulation of words (and language) allowed for dependent and independent thought that then allowed for discussion and agreement.

Reflections

Both writers deemed that there is a distinct separateness between the natural world and the human world. Searle focused his analysis on the ‘brute’ facts (rivers, mountains) and the ‘institutional’ facts that allow humans to create objective realities within their culture (e.g money, class systems, national borders etc). Emerson, writing in the first half the 19th Century separated the two by looking at the artefacts of human history and how the passage of time showed nature and not culture to be immutable.

Both writers discussed human language and its relation to social reality. Searle looks at this logically and rationally by following the development of human language that allowed for conscious thought and therefore discussion and agreement on social constructs. Emerson, writing prior to Darwin’s theory of evolution, discusses how reality, expressed though language, is a reflection of the language of nature. Emerson looks at language poetically and metaphorically.

“Every appearance in nature corresponds to some state of the mind, and that state of the mind can only be described by presenting that natural appearance as its picture. An enraged man is a lion, a cunning man is a fox, a firm man is a rock, a learned man is a torch. A lamb is innocence; a snake is subtle spite; flowers express to us the delicate affections. Light and darkness are our familiar expression for knowledge and ignorance; and heat for love.”

(Emerson, 1836)

Emerson appears to have an idealistic and transcendental viewpoint wheras Searle’s is more realistic. I particularly like the fact that he acknowledges that man is actually a part of nature, ‘nature is expressed through humans’, and that man should experience that unity or ‘oneness’. This feels very reminiscent of eastern Buddhist philosophy.

Bibliography

Emerson, R.W. (1836) Nature At https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/nature.html (Accessed 01/02/2020)

Emerson, R. W (1834) The Naturalist Delivered to the Boston Natural HIstory Society, 7 May, 1934. At https://archive.vcu.edu/english/engweb/transcendentalism/authors/emerson/essays/naturalist.html (Accessed 01/02/2020)

Searle, J. R (1995) ‘The Construction of Social Reality’ London: Penguin books.

“The content and methodology of postmodern science thus provide powerful intellectual support for the progressive political project, understood in its broadest sense: the transgressing of boundaries, the breaking down of barriers, the radical democratisation of all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life. Conversely, one part of this project must involve the construction of a new and truly progressive science that can serve the needs of such a democratised society-to-be.” (Sokal, 1994)

Do you think Sokal was right to publish the article? Give reasons in a short paragraph.

I believe that Sokal was right to publish the article ‘Transgressing the Boundaries: Towards a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity’ in the journal Social Text in 1996. Those that publish knowledge and research provided by academics are in a position of power. They have a duty to the wider society to ensure that an academics work is understood and peer reviewed prior to publishing (Weber, 1996). In Sokal’s case this did not happen. The danger here is that a published article that appears to support a particular viewpoint but is hugely flawed, slips through into the public arena. Sokal’s hoax article highlighted this point absolutely, as well as indicating the dangers of post-modern criticism of the natural sciences.

When you first read the passage did it seem suspicious?

Initially, I was not suspicious of the passage. I strongly believe that both natural science and social, economic, political and cultural life (humanities) should be studied when looking at certain important objects of inquiry. For example, mental health requires a biological and chemical analysis to understand the physical conditions, (brain function and chemistry), a cultural and social aspect to understand why the condition occurs ( how culture influences emotional well-being), and a political and economic perspective that can promote change and prevention (financial investment in recovery and prevention). In this instance, natural science is not enough to understand the issue at hand and encompassing a wide field of perspectives can elicit greater knowledge. This appears productive when disciplines are complementing each other rather than influencing and altering.

Having considered this viewpoint, the part in Sokal’s paragraph which then seemed suspicious to me was the last sentence “Conversely, one part of this project must involve the construction of a new and truly progressive science that can serve the needs of such a democratised society-to-be.” He seems to be suggesting changing the natural sciences (although not how) to serve a democratised society and yet this would require science to be a subjective discipline. On further reading of the full article, Sokal makes bold claims that;

“..physical ‘reality’, no less than social ‘reality’ is at bottom a social and linguistic construct; that scientific ‘knowledge’ far from being objective, reflects and encodes the dominant ideologies and power relations of the culture that produced it..’ (Sokal 1996: 217-8)

This paragraph instantly set alarm bells ringing! Sokal is highlighting that postmodernist thought had started to question the objectivity of natural science and was claiming that physical reality was socially constructed!

It is clear to me that the natural sciences are objective. Scientific laws are understood in the same way regardless of differences in nation, race and gender (Weinberg 1996). A rock is a rock regardless of whether a human perspective is involved (Searle 1996).

Has anything else you have read so far in this course book seemed suspicious? Briefly say what and why?

Clement Greenberg’s theory on modernist painting made me slightly suspicious. Greenberg seemed to favour certain artists that supported his theories and ignored others. For example, Rothko and Pollock were celebrated by Greenberg as avant-garde modernist artists exploiting the flatness of the canvas. Yet he ignored new and innovative art work by Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol. Was this because they didn’t fit into his vision? He was also reluctant to accept minimalist art as modernist painting and I feel that this was because they took him literally and pushed his theory to the limit.

Bibliography

Shaefer, N. & Piereson, J. (2017) The Sokal Hoax and its lessons in Washington Examiner 25/01/2017 At https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/the-sokal-hoax-and-its-lessons (Accessed 25/01/2020)

Sokal, A. (1996) Transgressing the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum Gravity Social Text. No 46/7 Spring wars (1996 pp 217-252) At https://physics.nyu.edu/faculty/sokal/transgress_v2/transgress_v2_singlefile.html (Accessed 25/01/2020)

Weber, K. (1996) Science Wars—Remarks from a Critical Rationalist’s Point of View Weber, in Popper, K. (2006) A CENTENARY ASSESSMENT, VOLUME II: Epistomology and Metaphysics, Jarvie, K. Milford, D. Miller, eds., Aldershot et al., Ashgate, At https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1836410 (Accessed 12/07/2020)

Weinberg, S. (1996) Sokal’s Hoax In The New York Review of Books Vol. XLIII No.13 pp11-15 at https://physics.nyu.edu/sokal/weinberg.html (Accessed 25/01/2020)

Describe the features in each of these paintings that you think correspond to Greenberg’s view that kitsch ‘imitates the effects of art’. In other words how has the artist made the painting look artistic – as if for a sophisticated taste.

Before examining these two paintings, it is important to understand Greenberg’s meaning of the terms ‘kitsch’ and its opposing counterpart ‘avant-garde.’ The term avant-garde refers to a ‘higher level’ art that keeps culture moving in modernised society by bravely advancing into unknown territory (Greenberg 1939:5). In the art world a small group of avant-garde artists removed subject matter/representation to focus on the medium of the craft in what we may term ‘abstract’ or ‘non-representational’ art. Emphasis was placed on texture, colour, spaces and surfaces. Greenberg states that this type of art is appreciated by the minority – the cultured, educated and intelligent. Avant-garde art is appreciated by the only class with time to appreciate it – the Bourgeois. He argues that the spectator of a Picasso painting, for example, would invest time and effort reflecting on the complex painting to appreciate it. This effort is what distinguishes avant-garde from kitsch.

As a Marxist critic, Greenberg explained kitsch in terms of class and capitalism. As people migrated to urban industrialised areas, they left behind rural and folk culture. The urban masses demanded society provide them with a new culture for consumption. This culture is not a genuine culture but a new ‘lower level’ commodity for the ‘exploited’ and ‘ignorant’ mass poor. (Greenberg, 1936:9-10) The consumption of mass culture kitsch borrows themes, stratagies and tricks from the avant-garde to create a formulaic, fake piece of art. Greenberg states:

‘If the avant-garde imitates the process of art, kitsch we now know, imitates the effects.’ (Greenberg (1936:15)

Kitsch is simple. It is mass-produced, cheap, vulgar, mimics beauty and provides instant gratification for the viewer without any intellectual effort. It is a market- driven profitable commodity.

One of the best-selling mass produced prints of the 20th Century was ‘Chinese Girl’ (1952) by Vladimir Tretchikoff.

Despite this it has been described harshly ‘arguably the most unpleasant work of art to be published in the 20th Century’ (Feaver, cited in Bell 2013 ‘Brilliant trechnicolour or trashicolour’ (Gorelich 2013:106). The painting shows a portrait of a Chinese girl, dressed in a part finished golden dress. Her make up and hair resemble 1950’s glamour and her face glows an unusual blue colour. The background is left unpainted.

So, what features in ‘Chinese Girl’ correspond to Greenberg’s view that kitsch ‘imitates the effects of art’?

The painting is representational. The viewer has to expend no effort interpreting the content or understanding meaning. We are presented with a portrait that uses bright striking contrasting colours. These colours heighten reality and create a more dramatic and artificial image. Freemantle, in her essay on South African icons, states that the image is very similar to 1950’s glamour photography and uses graphic and advertising techniques of high detail and loose drawing. The application of bright paint and the style of oriental mixed with 1950’s style glamour creates more of a ‘garish’ and tacky representation (Freemantle 1998: 95-96). The unfinished look of the painting with the unpainted background and dress attempt sophistication and draw the viewers gaze to the blue face. It is uncertain why the girl’s face is blue but it certainly makes the face more visible against the background.

The portrait is an unusual yet intimate representation of idealised feminine youth. She is close up and engaged with the viewer. The painting is sensual and dramatic and provides instant gratification as the girl can be seen as an exotic, romantic character, as if in a story. Sentimentality and emotion are invoked by her mysterious, sullen pose and the strong tonal contrasts used by the artist. There is a sense of falseness to these emotions though as they are easily evoked and easily forgotten.

If we examine Andrew Hewkin’s painting ‘Do you leave footprints in the sand’, we can see features similar to ‘Chinese Girl’ that correspond to Greenberg’s view that kitsch ‘imitates the effects of art’.

This 21st Century painting does look very ‘kitsch’ and reminds me of posters that were sold in the 1980’s in the Athena shop. A woman poses between two marble pillars on a balcony above palm trees next to the sea. She poses evocatively in loose fitting white clothing that is illuminated by the sun and gives it almost a holy or magical effect.

As Hewkin’s painting is a representational image the viewer again is not required to put in any effort understanding meaning – everything is visually there and recognisable. The viewer can be transported to an idyllic scene that may evoke memories or a desire to be somewhere else. The woman looks sophisticated with her clothing and gloves and acts mysteriously by looking down and hiding her eyes under the rim of the hat. The whole scene looks luxurious with the female figure framed by the marble. In terms of composition, strong horizontal and vertical lines are broken up by the central figure that is full of curves and diagonals which keeps the viewer focused.

The colours used create an artificial feel due to the use of strong blues and greens. I would say that it feels as though Hewkin has used graphic design techniques to create an ‘unreal’ and simple effect through his composition choice and use of colour. None of this feels natural as it promotes an ‘idealised’ version of beauty in female form and in the surroundings she occupies.

In both paintings I feel that everything has been exaggerated – (colour, fashion, pose, composition) to allow the maximum experience and effect whilst giving minimal effort.

Reflection

Clement’s theory of Avant-garde and kitsch has given me lots to think about particularly in contemporary art and I would question whether ‘kitsch’ necessarily has to belong to the masses. If we look at artists such as Jeff Koons and some of his sculptures, for example Michael Jackson and Bubbles, we can absolutely describe them as ‘kitsch’, tacky and cheap looking. In a way, the artist has almost exploited the idea of kitsch in a new way. However, Koons has not mass produced his work and it sells exclusively to wealthy art collectors at a high price. We can also look at the rise of modern art galleries that are now accessible to the masses as part of the consumer culture of experience. Previously exclusive ‘avante-garde’ artists now receive a wider viewing across a more diverse mass audience. Greenberg wrote this essay during the 1930’s and focused on abstract art as ‘avante-garde’. Since then, modern art has seen many art movements that have moved bravely into the unknown and could be seen as venturing into new territories.

List of Illustrations

Fig 1. Tretchikoff, V. (1952-3) Chinese Girl’ , [oil on canvas] At https://fineartamerica.com/featured/vladimir-tretchikoffs-the-chinese-girl-the-green-lady-krystal-.html?product=art-print (Accessed 18/11/2019)

Fig 2. Hewkin, A. (2002) ‘Do you leave footprints in the sand?’ [oil on canvas] At http://andrewhewkin.com/index.php/2001-2010/ (Accessed 18/11/2019)

Bibliography

Bell, M. (03/2013) Chinese Girl: the Mona Lisa of kitsch. In The Independent 17/03/2013 (Accessed 18/11/2019)

Freemantle, B. (2018) A Pantheon of icons: towards a South African iconology ‘viewed at: http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/25904 (Accessed 18/11/2019)

Greenberg, C. (1939) Avant-garde and kitsch. At http://sites.uci.edu/form/files/2015/01/Greenberg-Clement-Avant-Garde-and-Kitsch-copy.pdf (Accessed 18/11/2019)

Harrison, C. (1996) Modernism in Nelson, Robert, S. and Shiff, Richard. ‘Critical term for art history’, (1996) University of Chicago Press.

Jon Anderson Lecture on Clement Greenberg’s Subject v Medium Debate in Modernism -You tube viewed at:

Make your own copy of Barr’s chart ad extend it to the year 2000 by including movements such as Pop Art. In a separate column list major events in politics and culture that you think have had some bearing on the kind of art practiced at the time.

I found this exercise really interesting because it helped me to break down the post-modern period after 1970. It was useful to see how these modern movements have been influenced by prior art movements. However, sometimes this wasn’t always clear cut, with artists being influenced by many different movements.

The events throughout the century that I felt influenced artists and provoked new ideas, thoughts and creativity in the art world are listed on the left-hand side. I believed that the wars in the 20th Century affected the collective consciousness of the generations affected, none more so than the 1st world war. A hopeful and optimistic society that believed it would be improved by the introduction of machines was decimated by a war that wiped out a generation of young men with machines that maimed and killed in horrific circumstances. The Futurists celebrated the rise of the machine prior to WW1 wheras the aftermath gave rise to the Dadaists who reacted to the horror and devastation.

I also felt that Political and Social perspective heavily influenced the development of different art groups. The extreme rise of left (Socialist) and right (Fascist) parties and regimes throughout the 20th Century encouraged protest art and also art movements that were developed for the use of propoganda (For example Socialst Realism). The treatment and attitude towards various groups within certain societies has also influenced artists. Black citizens of USA during the 1960’s gave rise to the AfriCOBRA movement in Chicago that tried to empower it’s black citizens. The Guerilla girls of the 1980’s created protest Feminist art in response to the gender inequalities within the art world.

A rise in consumer and commercial culture had also influenced art through the 20th Century. This can be seen through the increase of Land art in the 1960’s and the rise of the counter-culture in the 1970. Perhaps the most influential development of consumer/commercial culture on modern art has been the development of computer technology and the rise of the internet allowing for a variety of new forms of Digital art.

List of Illustrations

Fig 1. Barr, A. H (1936) Cubism and Abstract Art flow chart .At https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81386 (Accessed 16/11/10)

Fig 2. Jobson L. (2019) Copy and extension of Barr’s flow chart to the year 2000. [photograph] by author.

Bibliography

Art terms at https://www.tate.org.uk

Barr, A.H (1936) Cubism and Abstract art . New York:Moma. At https://www.moma.org/documents/moma_catalogue_2748_300086869.pdf (Accessed 20/10/2019)

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/contemporary-art-movements (Accessed 20/10/2019)

New Leipzig School at https://www.artsy.net/gene/new-leipzig-school (Accessed 20/10/2019)