Art and Identity: The Museum of Art

     Art has a long list of things which are considered when looking at it. For example, when one looks at an art work they take in the colors, the emotions or memories it may bring which are usually subject to interpretation. They also define many things in different ways. Here we’ll be focusing on the following: individual, cultural, and historical identity.

   “Girl before a Mirror” by Pablo Picasso shows a woman staring at her reflection in the mirror. On one side she is young, vibrant and somewhat angelic, in her reflection she seems to be older. The younger side shows her to be content almost perfect whilst the reflection shows her face a bit distorted and woeful. This shows individual identity by the woman looking into the mirror trying to find herself. She sees an older version of herself in the mirror like many of us try to depict the many aspects of our future lives.    

   “Study of Perspective - White House” by Ai Weiwei, is a photograph of a person sticking out is middle finger at the White House. Looking at this photo, one may conclude that the person was quite upset with either the president or just the government as a whole. This here shows cultural identity for the reason that the person is feels discontent with which in this case seems to be the White House making him the minority. In many cultures the feeling is relatively the same. Many feel that their government is ruining their way of life and obliterating everything they worked so hard for.

  Bill Brandt’s “In the Public Bar at Charlie Brown’s, Limehouse” shows historical identity because it displays the well known bar scene seen throughout time. Movies, TV, and even music make the bar a place which one uses as a getaway from their problems or just to have a good time with friends. One example of this is the 1980’s sitcom “Cheers”. The most memorized lyrics of the theme song are, “Sometimes you wanna go, where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came…” makes this very clear.

   In conclusion, this marks the end of our educational journey through time. Cultural, individual, and historical identities go hand-in-hand due to the fact that all individuals are part of a culture which at one time or another went through a historical event. 

Information on Artworks ( In order of appearance)

Artist: Pablo Picasso 
Name: " Girl before a Mirror"
Medium: Painting
Year: 1932

Artist: Ai Weiwei

Name: Study of Perspective - White House
Medium: Photograph
Year: 1995 - 2003

Artist: Bill Brandt
Name:In the Public Bar at Charlie Brown's, Limehouse
Medium: Photograph
Year: 1992

Man in landscape

This is a really nice painting I got off of facebook.  It is strategically and beautifully done so that not only do you see trees and houses,  but a face as well. 

Narrative Digital Collage

This brings me back to my senior year in high school. Though it was filled some hard times, it was also pretty darn fun. There was a lot of laughter, music, dancing, and part of the fun was trying not to get caught doing the wrong but fun things. The staff pretty much became family, as well as many of the students. Dating was definitely interesting to say the least. It was almost like MTV because there were some fights, pregnancies, partying, etc . I miss over 75% of the people I've encountered, I was lucky to have had and still have many of them in my life. I sure do miss it, good times.

My Buddy and My Chi-Chi

To me this is good art because my intention was to make the viewer feel warm and fuzzy inside and so far those I've shown it to have felt this way. Thus, I've achieved my goal. The smiles my niece and nephew have are bright and make you feel happy , the sections where they're sleeping are to make you feel content and say awww. I added the frame to make it pop out more.

A Photo I Think Represents America

I find this to be representational art it symbolizes how lower income people are paying more taxes and what not than the rich. This is just unfair. I found this on Facebook,  whoever created this must've been an intelligent person.

Good Art vs. Bad Art

Good art is a piece that when you look at it or even listen to it the way you would to music, makes you feel or think a certain way. Finding a relation between the piece and something in my life is also something I look for in good art. If the piece takes me down memory lane or makes me think of my present or future life, that too makes it good art. In good art, the colors should be bright and vivid, they should make me feel good inside.This piece called " Jeune fille endormie" by Pablo Picasso is an example of what I consider to be good art. The colors are sorted nicely throughout the painting, and they're nice and bright. She seems so content as she she naps. I look at this painting and I can look back to my high school dies where in certain boring classes I'd rest my head on my jacket and sleep oh so soundly.

Bad art is a piece that you just don't get. It throws you into a pit of confusion. It leaves you wondering "what in the world was the artist trying to say", "was the artist trying to say anything at all"? The piece may have one or more colors that just don't go with the flow of the shapes involved in it. There may not be enough color in that art piece, in fact, there may even be too much color that it causes a negative feeling inside. Bad art might also have too much going on at once which may make you think "what does that have to do with the rest of the piece"? For example Edvard Munch's painting of "Screaming Man" is something that I find not only a bit grotesque, but pointless as well. What could possibly make this artist think that this is something worth seeing? the face is just creepy, it looks like a dementor from Harry Potter.

In conclusion, I have a very detailed opinion of what good art and bad art is.