Amber:
Hi there! I'm Amber, a single mom celebrating some variety of the anniversary of my 29th birthday. My children are seven and four years old, so I'm always busy, busy, busy! I currently work in IT support, so it's important that I surround myself with art. That way I won't turn into a mindless drone that hates her life. I have a Bachelors degree of Science from Western Kentucky University, which has been basically useless, but eh...it was a degree. What can ya do? For fun, I like to read, play games of strategy, watch movies, and dance. Art, to me, is life. Without it, everyday becomes a chore. We need beautiful and interesting things to lift us up to a higher place. I love art that seems beautiful or continues to lurk in my brain for a long time after I've seen it. I am definitely not an "expert" on art. I won't be able to tell you all the deep hidden meanings of art, but I can tell you if I like it or not and why I do. To me, that's the important thing about art anyway. I really don't care if I'm supposed to like it (here's a secret: I only think the "Mona Lisa" is okay). If the work doesn't speak to me directly, I'm not going to really care what the resident professionals think. Actually, the best piece of art may be a picture that my oldest son drew of him so that "I would not forget him while I am at work." So, you know, this whole thing is pretty subjective. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm just a regular girl. I'm ready to tackle this art and give you my take, but in the end, I encourage you to like what you like and throw the rest out!
Josh:
I have always drawn, painted, photographed, written down my ideas since I was a kid. I took art class in high school and received my Associates in Graphic Art and Design from Nossi College of Art. I have the creative mind to recognize good art and design from bad art and design or so society would deem anyway. I wouldn't consider myself typical and I do think there is meaning in every piece of art even though I am constantly discouraged when it becomes a social game of who has the most expensive, exclusive, and biggest pieces of artwork. I still don't see how some pieces are worth more than others other than the fact of more people agreeing versus less people agreeing on the value. Art is subjective and objective, you take what you want from it.
Now that you know a little bit about us I would like to start off with a few questions about Art.
What is Art?
Amber: Art is something that makes you want to keep looking. I find art everywhere: nature, graffiti, and life. I do not believe that art is by any means regulated by museums or "artsy" people. Anyone can decide what speaks to them and can deem a piece "art".
Josh: It's the process and/or final product of translating a concept to an actual form to be shared with other people.
Does Art impact real life?
Amber: For me, yes. Life without beauty would be a terrible place. When I'm having a crappy day at work, I skulk around on the internet, looking for art and beauty. It helps me realize that there are bigger things out there than the little issues of the day.
Josh: I know for the artists themselves it does in fact 100% affect their lives. I would say the impact outside of that can be anywhere from 0-100% of the human population all based on how effective it is or widely accepted it is.
Would you pay millions of dollars to own a piece of Artwork?
Amber: Oh man... if I had millions of dollars? Totally. Today? Nope. I wouldn't pay hundreds of dollars for artwork, but I'm down with buying a season pass to the local museum!
Josh: If I was convinced a piece was worth it then yes I would.
Do you own a piece of Artwork for free once you have seen it?
Amber: No. Ownership conveys being able to share what you have (if desired). I can cherish the memory, but how do I describe the Mona Lisa's smile so that my listener can picture it? Impossible. Also, memory fades, so me seeing something once won't be as amazing as a year, a month, or even a week later.
Josh: Once you have seen the artwork then you have in fact retained and own a part of it since it is now forever in your mind at no other cost than looking at it.
Do you find the process of making art more interesting than the final product?
Josh: Coming from an Artists' background I do more times than not find that the process of getting there is far more enjoyable than the finished product. Once it is complete you have to let it go and that is the hardest part by far. It's like seeing someone's thought process to get to their final concept.
Does tracing something count as art?
Amber: It depends, does it become something amazing? I don't think that technique matters as much as the end product.
Josh: It qualifies by my definition of Art from earlier but that doesn't mean I have to like it, appreciate it, or give it any value.
Now we will look at a few examples of Artwork from random places and discuss them.
Our first piece of Artwork:
( http://www.sergebirault.fr/ )
Amber: Out of the four pieces of art we are looking at, this one really stuck with me. I mean, you have this beautiful girl, with everything just perfect... she's got a pretty face and BOOBS that just don't quit, but all you can think about is this heart that she's gently holding. It's interesting to me that she's pefectly clean except for her fingers. What happened there? See, I want to know all the back story about what went down. She's so delicate and feminine and scary...I love her!
Josh: This is a dark piece with no white anywhere except her face and chest. The sexuality in the piece is very forthcoming and as a man this always going to draw my attention. There are subtle hints that the woman depicted has something she's hiding from you and only adds to the aura of mystery around the piece. Although it is formal art it has been skewed from reality a bit with the caricature style of the waist and perfect skin. I quite enjoy this piece.
Up next:
( http://www.kelseybrookes.com/Newestest_Index.htm )
Amber: I'm going to be honest. I'm not loving this one. This reminds me of those terrible airbrush t-shirts you can get at the county fair. If you flip it over it'll say "Gansta's 4EVA!" I'll admit, some of it is interesting. What is all that crap on it's face? Manes made from feathers are definitely artistic...but just not my style.
Josh: I find that drugs easily influence Art and after you have shrooms or acid who could blame you? When I see hints of drug influence executed well it does indeed please me. It's a vicious piece that feels neutral from the white and feels like the red has been suppressed somehow in this concept. Pattern, repetition, lines, and the angle of the red line against the straight upper jaw of the lion has my eye constantly making its way to the eye of the lion. I do like this piece and I can see there is a clear decision to use that much white.
3rd piece:
( http://agnes-cecile.cleanfolio.com/ )
Amber: There are several things that I really like about this work. I like how it looks like an accidental splat turned into a beautiful face. I like how the two faces nicely contrast. One looks so much more lighthearted and one is so somber. However, When I first looked at the picture, a few hours later, I couldn't even remember a single detail of the picture. So, I find this picture interesting while I'm looking at it, but ultimately forgettable.
Josh: I love representations of the duality of mankind. The constant struggle of happiness and unhappiness is forever at the core of who we are. This is a clear representation of that. It is asymmetrical and very balanced like looking into a mirror. The artist seems to even go as far as add dark purples in the face on the right and light greens on the face on the left possibly an indication of the yin-yang philosophy. This piece makes me want to think about myself and my own nature and ponder the big questions about life. All of this done with abstract color and a beautiful woman's face or it could indeed be two women.
Final piece:
( http://www.kidsartclassroom.com/ )
Amber: Is this a child's representation of "Starry Night"? See, I'm sure a professional could tell you about all the intricate details and depth of this picture, but I feel like there is a very proud mama of a second grader lurking around here somewhere. Now, don't get me wrong, if that was my kid's work, everyone in the county would know about my child's amazing future as an artist. However, I get sooo tired of these works of "art" that don't really resemble talent.
Josh: I think every kid draws their house when they're a kid. But when you see it a new light and not a typical yellow sun, blue house, red car, green grass, etc. then there is more feeling to be had even with a piece of Artwork that has been translated through a child's eyes. They chose black paper, hills, different colors of grass, multiple moons, leaf-less tree, and so on. I think age will always be a factor in all forms of Art but that doesn't mean there is no value because of that.
Surprise bonus piece:
( http://jasondegraaf.blogspot.com/ )
This last piece is an image done in acrylic paint and not a photograph and it deserves special attention because it replicates what a camera would do but is done with paint. It's similar to tracing a drawing.
In this specific case do we still consider it to be art?
Amber: I do! I love it! I know, I know...it's just a spectacular tracing, but could I trace anything like this? Heck no! My tracing looks kinda sorta not really like the original on a good day! I want to look at the painting longer, and try to find all the little tells that this is a painting versus a picture. Some of these, I honestly just cannot tell when looking online. I wonder if the painting is just as realistic in person... also, for me, amazing art tends to take a lot of patience. The Sistine Chapel for example, I can look at those paintings and see the painstaking little details that the average person would not be able to accomplish. I like to drink in all the small aspects of how amazingly lifelike this work is. Some of the comments state that the human aspect of these pieces are removed, and therefore are not art. I disagree, in a big way. I think that's the whole purpose of this art. It's limiting the interpretation to something one dimensional. Not all art requires layer upon layer of depth to be interesting. I think this is a perfect example!
Josh: I would draw a line that if there was no intent to make Art with a purpose then it wouldn't be art. But how would you ever know unless you spoke to the person who made it. What was the Artist's purpose in making acrylic paint look like a photograph?
