Cubism

“Cubism is like standing at a certain point on a mountain and looking around. If you go higher, things will look different; if you go lower, again they will look different. It is a point of view.”

Started: 1907  –  Ended: 1922

Introduction to abstract art

The word abstract strictly speaking means to separate or withdraw something from something else. Abstract art is art which is not representational, it could be based on a subject or may have no source at all in the external world.

Drawn from reality vs pure abstraction

• The term abstract art can be applied to art that is based on an object, figure or landscape, where forms have been simplified to create an abstracted version of it. Cubist artists depended on the visual world for their subject matter but opened the door for more extreme approaches to abstraction.

• The term is also applied to art that uses forms, such as geometric shapes or gestural marks, which have no source at all in an external visual reality. Some artists of this ‘pure’ abstraction have preferred terms such as concrete art or non-objective art, but in practice the word abstract is used across the board and the distinction between the two is not always obvious.

Georges Braque Bottle and Fishes circa 1910-2

László Moholy-Nagy K VII 1922 Oil on canvas

Introduction to the cubist movement

Cubism was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality invented in around 1907/08 by artists Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque who aimed to bring different views of subjects (usually objects or figures) together in the same picture, resulting in paintings that appear fragmented and abstracted. Cubism opened up almost infinite new possibilities for the treatment of visual reality in art and was the starting point for many later abstract styles.

It is generally agreed to have begun around 1907 with Picasso’s celebrated painting Demoiselles D’Avignon which included elements of cubist style.

Why was cubism so radical?

By comparing a cubist still life with an earlier still life painted using a more traditional approach, we can see immediately just what it is that made cubism look so radically different from earlier painting styles. Both paintings are of musical instruments. The first is by Edward Collier and was painted in the seventeenth century. The second is by cubist Georges Braque.

Edward Collier Still Life with a Volume of Wither’s ‘Emblemes’ 1696

Georges Braque Mandora 1909-10

Compare the way the instruments are painted in the paintings. Which look the most real? How has Collier made the objects in his painting look realistic? (Look at how he has used shading or tone, color, perspective and also how he has applied the paint). What rules do you think the cubists broke?

How does it work?

By breaking objects and figures down into distinct areas or planes, the artists aimed to show different viewpoints at the same time and within the same space and so suggest their three dimensional form. In doing so they also emphasized the two-dimensional flatness of the canvas, instead of creating the illusion of depth. This marked a revolutionary break with the European tradition, which had dominated representation from the Renaissance onwards, of creating the illusion of real space from a fixed viewpoint using devices such as linear perspective.

What inspired cubist style?

There were two key influences that inspired Picasso and Braque to invent this radical new way of looking at, and depicting objects, people and landscape.

1. The paintings of older artist Paul Cézanne, and sculptures made by artists from non-European cultures (which Braque and Picasso saw in museums) were hugely important to the development of cubist style.
2. Cubism was partly influenced by the late work of Paul Cézanne in which he can be seen to be painting things from slightly different points of view.

Cézanne said that he wanted his landscapes, people and objects to look solid. By showing things from different angles he was able to show that they were three-dimensional. It is this technique that influenced the younger cubist artists.

Below are two paintings of landscapes with trees. The first is by Paul Cézanne, the second by cubist Georges Braque. Do you think that Braque’s painting was inspired by Cézanne’s technique?

Paul Cézanne The Grounds of the Château Noir c.1900–6

Georges Braque The Church of Carrières-Saint-Denis 1909

Pablo Picasso was also inspired by African tribal masks which are highly stylized, or non-naturalistic, but nevertheless present a vivid human image. ‘A head’, said Picasso, ‘is a matter of eyes, nose, mouth, which can be distributed in any way you like’.

In this slideshow you can see sculptures similar to those that inspired the cubists. The slideshow also includes a painting and a sculpture by Picasso. Can you see the influence of these sculptures on Picasso’s technique?

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Types of cubism: Analytical vs. synthetic

Cubism can be seen to have developed in two distinct phases: the initial and more austere analytical cubism, and later phase of cubism known as synthetic cubism.

• Analytical cubism ran from 1908–12. Its artworks look more severe and are made up of an interweaving of planes and lines in muted tones of blacks, grays and ochres.
• Synthetic cubism is the later phase of cubism, generally considered to date from about 1912 to 1914, and characterized by simpler shapes and brighter colors. Synthetic cubist works also often include collaged real elements such as newspapers. The inclusion of real objects directly in art  was the start of one of the most important ideas in modern art.

Georges Braque Mandora 1909-10

Pablo Picasso Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar and Newspaper 1913 Collage and pen and ink on blue paper

 

Plaster Relief Sculpture Self-Portrait

Sculpture is the largest category of 3-D artwork. Today, sculptures are created from almost any available material that is safe to work with. Sculpture that is meant to be viewed from all sides is called sculpture in the round, or freestanding. Sculpture that is not freestanding but projects from a background surface is called relief sculpture. It is classified according to the degree in which it is raised from the surface: high relief, low relief, etc.

Art History Background: George Segal 

George Segal was an American sculptor best known for his life-size sculptures of human figures set in environments. Although he began as a figurative painter in the late 1950s, he turned to sculpture in order to explore the human figure as it relates to actual space and its surroundings. Segal’s early work is often treated within the framework of Pop Art, because of the reference to the individual’s position within mass culture and the examination of the relationship between fine and popular art. Later his work reflected social concerns. These works consist of plaster molds cast from living models in order to capture life like gestures, placed in environmental tableaux, which lock them in time. Although most of his figures remain white, in his later work he began painting them in vivid colors.

Key Ideas

Segal uses plaster gauze as his main medium. Designed to treat broken bones, the bandage is not just a medium but a metaphor. His plaster cast sculptures, literally the shells of people, can be read as poignant reminders of the human toll taken by World War II. Segal was from a family of Polish Jews, most of whom perished in the Holocaust. Despite this dimension of personal significance, the strength of his work lies in the universal significance of human gesture and expression.

In this project, you will create a plaster gauze relief mask of yourself. You will express qualities of your personality using the mask and other media to create a reflective sculpture. Just as Segal, you will be using the bandage not just as a medium but a metaphor of self-impression capturing an aspect of yourself and who you are.

You will work in partners. One of you will be the model, while the other will apply the mask material. Because this is a self-portrait it has to express aspects of your personality and how you view yourself. In addition to your face, you will also make a mold of your hands to help further express your idea.

Abstract Organic Sculptures

Principles of Design video

You are familiar with rhythm that results from the regular repetition of something, such as the beat in music, the strokes of a swimmer, or the rise and fall of waves. In an artwork, rhythm may result from the regular repetition of an element such as line or shape, or the repeated alternation of an element such as light and dark. Where there is rhythm, there is also a feeling of movement.

There are three methods for creating rhythm: (1) by repeating the same element such as a shape or a figure, with little or no variation; (2) by repeating two or more elements on an alternating basis, such as circle/square, circle/square; or (3) by progression, in which an element gradually changes shape, size, position, or color.

 

 

Most artworks include more than one kind of rhythm. Rhythm arrangements direct viewer attention through a composition. They help establish dominant areas and contribute to the mood of an artwork. You will experiment with different strategies to imply motion and the passing of time in a static artwork.

For the next step, you will create 6 designs demonstrating principles of design using only dots and lines. Although each design should illustrate at least three or more of the principles we have discussed, you will focus on rhythm and movement. Pay close attention to space. While designs need not necessarily fill the entire paper, they must be complete and well developed as space is an important consideration. Also, all designs must be totally abstract; no recognizable objects, shapes, letters, numbers, symbols, etc. are allowed.

Criteria for designs:

• use only two or three colors per design.
• dots must be round and colored solid.
• dots within each design should vary in size (change can be sudden or gradual but is important for providing contrast).
• dots may “follow the leader,” touch, overlap, stack on top of each other, run off the edge of the paper, etc.
• lines should begin thin, grow in thickness and return to a thin line again…or run off the paper (so they remain lines instead of becoming shapes).
• lines should vary in length (short, medium, long) and may expand/contract in any form or direction.
• lines may be straight, curved, zigzag, twist; cross over, build on top of or weave under and through each other, etc.

principles_design

Focal Point in Art

What are Focal Points?

Knowing how to create strong focal points in art is a skill every artist should understand and be able to execute. Focal points refer to the areas of the artwork that demand the viewer’s attention.  Intelligent placement of focal points can positively affect the overall composition of the artwork.

Creating good artistic composition takes knowledge of how your artwork will be viewed.  Understanding how your audience will view your artwork will help you to communicate more effectively through your artwork.

Creating focal points in your artwork is one way to be in control of how your artwork is viewed.  There are several devices that artists can use to ensure that subjects are seen in an artwork.  These subjects become the focal point(s) in the imagery.

Contrast

One way to create a focal point in art is through the use of contrast. Contrast refers to difference. Any type of difference in imagery will result in that element becoming a focal point. Difference or contrast can come in many different forms. Color, value, texture, shape, and form can all create contrast.  By combining elements, you can increase the contrast that is created, thus strengthening the focal point.

Isolation

Another way to create a focal point in artwork is through isolation. Whenever one object or element is separated from a group it becomes isolated and in turn, becomes a focal point.

Placement

Objects that are placed in the center of the picture plane or near center, will naturally become a focal point. Most of the time, a focal point that is not exactly center is preferred. By placing an object or element just off center, you can create a focal point through placement without affecting the aesthetics of the work.

Convergence

A fourth way to create a focal point in artwork is to use implied lines to direct a viewer’s eye to an object or element. This technique is known as convergence.

The Unusual

Another way to create a focal point in artwork is to introduce an object or element that is unusual to the scene. This object will stand out and demand attention thus creating a focal point.

Native American Pottery Symbolism and Design

Native American Ceramics:

If you study various cultures throughout the course of time, almost every society has had some sort of pottery or ceramics that they developed, especially if they were at all involved in farming. The native Americans developed their own styles of pottery and ceramics, just as many other cultures have done throughout history. Many of the native American tribes used pottery and ceramics, even before the Europeans first came to the Americas. While some tribes that mostly lived off of hunting did not make as much of this special pottery, the tribes that farmed the land seemed to have more use for the ceramics.

Different tribes had their own styles of making ceramics with various patterns and ways of finishing the pottery. The one thing the tribes had in common is that their ceramics were all made by hand. Still today there are native Americans that are making ceramics and they make them by hand. Some of these artists have even become well known, as they have been able to show off the pottery from their culture. While the Indians lost much of their land they have still been able to preserve much of their culture including their ceramics.

Working In the Style of Native American Pottery Designs:

What does it mean when we say that we’re working “in the style of” another artist or art movement?  It means that we are emulating a way of working that has been mastered by someone else in order to learn from them and explore relationships between their work and our own.  We are not trying to copy their work exactly, but we are borrowing from them lessons in design and technique.

We will be working in the style of indigenous artists who work with a variety of designs and symbols that can be used to pay tribute to something important to the artist or tell a story right on the surface of the pot, jar or plate.

• What images do you see that might have symbolic meaning?
• How is the space divided?
• Would you say that the designs are applied with a formal or informal balance?

Look at the glossary of Symbols and Designs Used in Native American Arts and study the visual language.  Then look at these examples of rotational designs used by traditional potters.

Begin your design with two sketches of your coiled pot–one from the side and one looking down onto the top like in this example.  Make it as close to the shape of your pot as possible.

Rainy Naha, Sherd Jar with Star,  10″ diameter, 5 3/4″ high, slip decorated clay

Think about where you might use patterns and where you might use a flat color.  Remember that the artist who did this pot is one of the best–you should start with a much simpler design. Design a rotational pattern that suits the size and shape of your pot.  Use one or more traditional patterns or symbols to create a narrative or tribute on your pot.

Coil Pottery

 

What is Clay?

Clay is a special kind of earth which is made by the decomposition of rocks through the action of weathering.

What does this mean?

Basically, over time, bits of earth are carried from one place to another by water and deposited in areas where the water slows down to a trickle. (Have you ever gone digging by the water’s edge only to grab a handful of muck? Well that muck is clay.) As the bits of earth travel with the water, they pick up all sorts of stuff and by the time we pick up a box of clay from the pottery store, the muck has been collected and prepared for us to use. All of the tiny rocks and lumps have been removed and some additional materials, like sand are sometimes added to create the perfect workable clay.

Working With Clay:

Clay artists throughout the ages have invented many ways to shape things out of clay.

PINCH – Use your fingers to pinch and poke a single lump of clay into any shape.

SLAB – Roll the clay into flat sheets (like a pie crust) to cut apart and assemble.

COIL – Roll out long snakes of clay and twist them into coils and shapes.

WHEEL – Spin clay on a potter’s wheel to form pots and vases.

Some Tools to Use When Working with Clay:

• Your fingers
• Rolling pins and canvas
• Popsicle sticks and toothpicks
• Cookie cutters
• Plastic bags
• A clay cutter (wire)
• Sponges
• Various carving tools

Clay Definitions:

Wedging: This is what you do to get all of the air bubbles out of your clay. Basically you roll the clay around on a flat surface “pushing” and “pulling” the clay so all of the air comes out. Clay right out of the box is already wedged … you don’t have to worry about air bubbles with new clay.

Kiln: This is a large, hot oven that is used to fire the clay. You need to fire your clay in a kiln in order for it to be permanent. A kiln can reach temperatures of 2500 degrees F. and higher. Your oven at home maybe reaches 500 degrees F.

Earthenware: This is the type of clay often used in schools. It comes in white or red and it is fired to a temperature of approximately 1000 degrees C. or 1830 degrees F.

Slip: This is liquid clay … clay with a lot of water added to it. It is used as a sort of glue to hold clay pieces together. You need to use slip to “fasten” pieces of clay together so that they don’t fall apart in the kiln.

Begin your project by drawing at least three possible shapes for your vessel.  You will create a template, that you must follow.  Here are your requirements:

• Your vessel must be a minimum of 20 cm tall.
• Your jar or vase must go out from the base and then taper back in.  It must
  change shape at least three times.  So in this illustration from the bottom up it swells to a big belly then tapers in to a narrow neck and then flairs back out for the lip of the opening.  This would be three shape changes.

Select the design that you think will look best and draw it the size you will make it on your big sketchbook.  Fold it in half and refine the symmetry of the vessel, then cut carefully along the outside edge of the drawing.  This will create a template that you can rest up against the side of your pot as you build it to guide the placement of your coils.  Your finished pot will need to match this profile of your design.

As you’re designing your vessel, remember that the clay is heavy when wet…it needs to be supported by the structure of the vessel.

Who is… Alexander Calder?

Meet Alexander Calder. The man that made modern art move! Here he is in his studio, surrounded by his artwork.

Alexander Calder in his Roxbury studio, 1941

Calder, known to his friends as ‘Sandy’, invented the mobile in 1931 when he decided to create a drawing in the air!

The artist Marcel Duchamp called Calder’s sculptures ‘mobiles’ because they moved when the wind blew. Here is one of his mobiles made in 1953. How do you think it moves?

Alexander Calder,
Antennae with Red and Blue Dots, c1953
Aluminium and steel wire

Calder’s mobiles were also inspired by nature, such as Snow Flurry I. Do you feel caught in a blustery snowstorm?

Alexander Calder, Snow Flurry, I 1948

Calder was born in Pennsylvania, USA in 1898 into an artistic family, his grandfather, his father and his mother were all artists. However, as a kid he was great at Maths, so he decided to study engineering at university. This turned out to be very useful later on when he was inventing his kinetic sculptures. Kinetic is used to describe a type of art that moves, either by air or the use of a motor.

In 1926 Calder made a miniature circus out of wire and bits of cork and fabric. He called it the Cirque Calder, and artists like Pablo Picasso were invited to come and watch performances. As a kid, Calder loved the circus, especially the acrobats. He was impressed by their ability to balance on thin wires high up in the air.

Alexander Calder, Circus Scene, 1929

In 1930 Calder visited the artist Piet Mondrian in his studio in Paris where he saw his simple paintings of rectangles and stripes in red, yellow and black.

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Yellow, Blue and Red, 1937–42

He thought it would be good if the shapes in Mondrian’s paintings moved, so he went back to his studio and began to work on a series of sculptures that would do this.

Calder also loved involving sound in his artwork. In Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere two balls hit bottles, a box, a can & gong.

Alexander Calder, Small Sphere and Heavy Sphere, 1932-1933

Calder made new ways of looking at and creating art. What do you think about his work? Does it remind you of anything you have seen before? Have you ever tried to make a mobile?

Kinetic Sculpture

Video

Wondering what these things are you’re looking at? They are mobiles, as in art, a type of sculpture based on balance and characterized by the ability to move when propelled by air currents, by touch, or by a small motor at any one time. The most striking feature of the mobile is that, unlike traditional sculpture, it achieves its artistic effect through movement; it is the most familiar form of kinetic art, which requires movement of some kind.

We are going to create a kinetic sculpture in the spirit of Calder’s mobiles. Following are some balance tips to begin creating a mobile.

Part A weighs the same as part B – Balance point is right in the middle:

Part A weighs more than part B – Balance point moves closer to part A, the heavier part:

The following illustration might look complex, but it’s really the exact same idea. All those lower parts count as just one part when it comes to the balance of the top part, it’s only about the balance between part A and part B:

And then it just goes on like that to the next level of the mobile:

The trick is that you build the mobile from bottom to top. Find the balance point between the bottom two elements. Then you add the next element on top of that and find the balance point between the new element and the first two elements and so on. Don’t weigh the parts or anything to make sure it balances. Just find the point by balancing it on your finger, or if you want to be exact, tie a string around it and move it back and forth until it balances.

Anything goes from here. Use whatever you want for weights or to connect the pieces. The possibilities are infinite.

Something else to consider:

There’s a balance point and a center of the mass (weight) of the object. If the center of mass of the object is above the balance point (meaning the majority of the weight is above the balance point), the object will fall over. If the center of mass of the object is below the balance point, it will balance. The farther below the balance point the center of mass is, the more stable is the balance. So by making the parts of a mobile curved downwards, you lower the center of mass, and therefore making it more stable and easier to balance.

You can attach the arms so they all point in the same direction, alternate them left and right, or arrange them in a random pattern. Do whatever you think looks good.

And just for fun, here’s Alexander Calder’s answer when he was asked how he gets that subtle balance in his work: “You put a disk here and then you put another disk that is a triangle at the other end and then you balance them on your finger and keep on adding. I don’t use rectangles––they stop. You can use them; I have at times but only when I want to block, to constipate movement.”

Different ways to join arms

Project Requirements:

• Your mobile should have at least 10 arms
• Your mobile should be balanced
• Your mobile should be able rotate and move with the wind

Dale Chihuly Inspired Chandelier

Who is Dale Chihuly? How did he overcome obstacles? What is the art of glass blowing? What are organic forms? What is opaque, transparent, translucent? What is an assemblage? What is collaboration?

 

We will create an installation made from recycled plastic bottles. The work should resemble a biomorphic form inspired by Chihuly’s glass sculptures.

3-D Art: Sculpture

Sculptures are 3-D artworks that can be seen from all sides. Sculptors plan their work so the viewer’s eye travels from part to part. Using curving and diagonal lines and shapes, they create a feeling of motion, or visual movement. Movement is also suggested by the action depicted in the form. Some sculptors create actual movement by using gravity, air currents, or motors. An artwork that contains actively moving parts is called kinetic art. Some sculptures do not move, but are affected by movement such as flashing lights, projected images, or water flow.

What contributes to eye movement around and over the form of this sculpture?

Elizabeth Catlett, Mother and Child #2, 1971

Sculpture is the largest category of 3-D artwork. Today, sculptures are created from almost any available material that is safe to work with. Sculpture that is meant to be viewed from all sides is called sculpture in the round, or freestanding. Sculpture that is not freestanding but projects from a background surface is called relief sculpture.

There are four main ways to make sculpture: it can be carved, cast, modeled, or constructed. Wood and stone are usually carved: their forms are shaped by removing material.

Casting involves filling a mold with a material that will harden and reproduce the volume and surface detail of the mold. For example, you could press your hand in wet sand to make a mold. Filling the mold with liquid plaster would make a cast.

Julio Gonzalez, Cactus Man I, 1939

 

 

Modeling is the shaping of a form from a piece of soft, workable material.

Constructions are sculptures built from traditional or industrial materials shaped by the artist. The parts may be of a single material, such as metal, or a variety of materials.

 

 

Marisol, Women and Dog, 1964

 

Assemblages are sculptures constructed from a variety of readymade materials and objects not often intended for making art.

Kinetic sculpture is sculpture that moves. Kinetic sculptures may get their energy from wind, falling water, temperature changes, springs, air pumps, pull strings, or computers.

Installation artworks often occupy an entire room or gallery space that the spectator invariably has to walk through in order to engage fully with the work of art. Some installations, however, are designed simply to be walked around and contemplated, or are so fragile that they can only be viewed from a doorway, or one end of a room. What makes installation art different from sculpture or other traditional art forms is that it is a complete unified experience, rather than a display of separate, individual artworks. The focus on how the viewer experiences the work and the desire to provide an intense experience for them is a dominant theme in installation art.

Alexander Calder, Yellow Sail, 1950

In the last half century, a number of new art forms, emphasizing the idea behind the work, have been identified as conceptual art. These include performance art, environmental art, and installations.

Whatever material the sculptor uses, he or she is concerned with interrelating all the positive and negative areas on the surface of the artwork. Positive and negative forms provide contrasts and create shadows, as do polished and textured areas.