Yayoi Kusama

Image Available at:  http://blogs.wsj.com/scene/tag/yayoi-kusama/

(Date Accessed:  20^th April 2012)

Yayoi Kusama is considered by many to be Japans greatest living artist.  Having been prone to visual and aural halucinations as a child Kusama created a world of her own and has been dubbed the princess of the polka dots.

Even at the ripe old age of 82 she still works in her studio by day and lives in a neighbouring mental institution by night well aware of her own condition which she calls obsessional neurosis.  It could be that her obsession with art has driven her mad but she insists that it’s the very thing which is keeping her sane.

Dots Obsession - New Century, 2000

Image accessed at:  http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/artists/49/Yayoi_Kusama/38/24460/

(Date Accessed: 20/04/2012)

Well-known for her repeating dot patterns, her art encompasses an astonishing variety of media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, film, performance and immersive installation.

Kusama (Tate, 2012)

Horse Play in Woodstock 1967

Image available at: http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/questionnaire-yayoi-kusama/

(Date Accessed:20^th April 2012)

Her modernist repetition style was closely admired and emulated by Warhol who used the style on his work “Cow” from 1966.  One thing I adore about her and her work its always original and its always related in someway to the visible and hidden parts of her personality.

                                          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RegxhTu748

    (KUSAMAdocumentary, 2008)

                                                             

 References

Tate (2012) Kusama.  Available at:  http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/yayoi-kusama  (Accessed:  20^th April 2012)

KUSAMAdocumentary (2008) Princess of the polka dots.  Available at:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RegxhTu748 (Accessed:  20^th April 2012)

Lucian Freud (Painter)

  Lucian Freud's Reflection (Self-portrait).1985

                                                                                    Image Available at;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/9108088/This-may-be-heresy-but-I-think-Freud-lost-his-early-greatness.html

(Accessed date: 15th April 2012)

I was searching for some interesting programs to look at when I saw a documentary about Lucian Freud.  It made me aware of his exhibition at the NPG.  I visited the exhibition and at one point thought that there were two artists involved.  I then realised that his style and level of expression developed significantly and visibly from a certain point in his life.  As you can see from his early paintings like Girl with the Kitten and Sleeping Nude.

                                                          

                                                         The girl with a kitten 1947

                                                                   Oil on Canvas

Images accessed at:

http://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/people/id/559/image/676

(Date accessed 13^th April 2012)

                                                                     

                                                           
                                                              
                                                          Sleeping Nude 1950

Images accessed at:

http://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/people/id/559/image/676

(Date accessed 13^th April 2012) 

 

Somewhere around 1950 his paintings became more intricate.  In particular his emphasis on the detail of human skin.   He perfected the skill of defining the characteristics of his subjects and really brought his pictures to life.

Hotel Bedroom 1954

Oil on canvas, 91.1 x 61 cm (36" x 24"), The Beaverbrook Art Gallery

The Beaverbrook Foundation (in dispute, 2004)

Images accessed at:

http://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/people/id/559/image/676

(Date accessed 13^th April 2012)

                         
In Hotel Bedroom he vividly expresses the disparity between him and his wife.  Clearly the love is gone from their relationship and an underlying drama is present.  Many of his pictures have a unnerving  yet  fascinating quality that he almost always chooses to paint.

'I've always wanted to create drama in my pictures, which is why I paint people. It's people who have brought drama to pictures from the beginning. The simplest human gestures tell stories.'

Lucian Freud

Lucian Freud Portraits (National Portrait Gallery, 2012)

                                                      Armchair at the Fireplace 1999

Images accessed at:

http://venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org/people/id/559/image/676

(Date accessed 13^th April 2012)
                                                               

Finally in Armchair by the Fireplace 1997 he brings to life a leather arm chair in front of a fireplace.  Even though there is no one present in the painting the essence of deterioration of the leather material and the suggestion of the owners own deterioration come alive.

                                           

References

National Portrait Gallery  (2012) Lucian Freud Portraits. 

Available at:  http://www.npg.org.uk/freudsite/ (Accessed:  20^th April 2012)

Hiroshi Sugimoto (Photographer)

                                           Hiroshi Sugimoto, Photographs of Joe (Pulitzer, 2006)

(Date Accessed: 21st April 2012)

Hiroshi Sugimoto remains one of the most technically minded photographers out there.  He uses 8x10 large format camera and very long exposures to produce his work.  Not a fan of digital photography he much prefers the outcome from a well prepared exposure or chemical mix during development.

In his interview with Deborah Martin Kao for the” Photographs for Joe Exhibition” He describes photography as the recording of time.

He talks about fossils as being “prephotography time recording devices”.   Photography is the median for recording time but now with digital photography its no longer recording time, the photograph can be manipulated any way you want so the credibility of our photography gets lost now.  Far from dismissing the genre altogether he explains that compared to painting photography is only young at 170 years old.

Interview available at:  http://sugimoto.pulitzerarts.org/interview/

UA Playhouse 1978

Image available at:   http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/theater.html

(Date Accessed:  21^st April 2012)

He created a series of images called theatre where he wanted to work with the concept of capturing a whole movie as just one frame so he went to a movie theatre and just as the film started he opened the shutter and just before it ended he closed it.  I really enjoy this collection because of the concept but also because of the beautiful shapes and shadows cast by the light from the screen.

Hiroshi Sugimoto Lightning Fields 128, 2009

References

Pulitzer (2006)Hiroshi Sugimoto, Photographs of Joe.  Available at: http://sugimoto.pulitzerarts.org/interview/ 2006 (Accessed:  21^st April 2006)



Duane Michals (Photographer)

Image available  at:  http://pdngallery.com/20years/20mostinfluential/michals.html

(Date Accessed:  15^th April 2012)

Born in 1932 he attended both the University of Denver and Parsons School of Design.   He worked in freelance photography and as a portraitist.  His work began to challenge philosophical ideas about death, gender and sexuality.

 “Working with staged scenes, he experimented with multiple exposures, sequences and combining text and drawings with his images.”   Duane Michals (Photo-Quotes.com, 2011).

He tells the real secret of producing great photography in my experience when he says

“Trust that little voice in your head that says 'Wouldn't it be interesting if...." And then do it.

  I think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody's face in a photograph. The magic is in seeing people in new ways. Duane Michals (Photo-Quotes.com, 2011)

http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=139&name=Michals,Duane (2011)

                                                            



                                             Madame Schrodingers Cat (1998)

Available at : http://www.artnet.com/artwork/424024250/969/madame-schroedingers-cat.html

                                                   

                                                     (Date Accessed: 15th April 2012)

The Madame Schrodinger and her cat are a series of sequential photographs with text to help to describe the thoughts of the subjects.

Salvation

Image available at:  http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/michals1.html

                                                           (Date Accessed:  13^th April 2012)

Salvation challenges the Catholic churches views on homosexuality.  Its thought provoking use of the priest using a crucifix as a gun and pointed at the temple of another man is striking. 

References

Duane Michals [Online]. 2012. http://www.biography.com/people/duane-michals-37944, April 15

http://www.photoquotes.com/showquotes.aspx?id=139&name=Michals,Duane (2011)

    

Paul Rand (Graphic Designer)

Image available at: https://www.google.co.uk/searchte 

(Date Accessed:10th April 2012)

P. Rand (American Graphic Designer) Born in 1914 in to a New York into the Orthodox Jewish Community Peretz Rosenbaum (who later changed his name to Paul Rand Aged 21) was best known for his corporate logo design. (Paul Rand: A Brief Biography, 2007)

One of the things that I like about him and many other successful people is that although he followed the mainstream education route (the most notable of which was Parsons School of Design and the Art Student League)  he was not necessarily a perfect fit and was largely self taught designer who relied on his own momentum to fuel his career.

Poster:  No Way Out

Image Available at:  http://meansheets.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/no-way-out-paul-rand2.jpg 

(Date Accessed 10th April 2012)

“His clean, simple lines pretty much defines the 50′s and 60′s Mid-Century Modernist look. However, unlike Bass, he chose to stick to the more steady commercial work of designing trademarks and completed only one movie poster for No Way Out, starring Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier”.

Discussion can be found online (Rand-om Thoughts, 2010)

Paul Rands contribution and influence on the Graphic Design Industry is vast and he had a career spanning more than 60 Years eventually passing away in 1996 aged 82.

He is responsible for creating the logos of ABC news, IBM computers and even UPS the logistics providers and much more besides.

                                                Film availble at: http://youtu.be/hH446lgDrW8

                                                       (Date accessed 10th April 2012)

For Paul Rand's posthumous induction into The One Club Hall of Fame, Imaginary Forces created this short film, combining original animation with a videotaped interview of Rand himself, that encapsulated his unique and timeless contribution to the design community.
http://imaginaryforces.com/

References

Paul Rand:  A Brief Biography (2007) Available at:

http://www.paul-rand.com/foundation/biography/(Accessed: 10^th April 2012)

Roy Lichtenstein (Pop Artist)

Image Collage by Gloria Garcia

Images available at:

http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/art_in_turin_and_milan/index.php?page=6

http://www.biography.com/people/roy-lichtenstein-9381678

http://www.bobkessel.com/tag/roy-lichtenstein/

(Date accessed 10th April 2012)

One of the most instantly recognisable Pop Artists to have ever been.   After a spell in the US Army he went to do a masters degree in Fine Art before emerging as a Pop Artist.

“Lichtenstein for a period painted in the style of Abstract Expressionism and Cubism. His first Pop Art piece came in 1956 – a picture of a dollar bill. It wasn’t until 1960/1 however that he started to paint in the style for which he is known”.

 Payne (2012) Describes Lichtensteins pregression into the world of Pop Art.

Whaam 1963

                  Image available at:  http://www.op-art.co.uk/history/op-art-history-part-ii/

                                                      (Date Accessed:  11^th April 2012)

Whaam is to this day probably his most talked about work.  I first saw it hanging in my school as a teenager and never forgot how simple yet how eyecatching it was.

“His work was heavily influenced by both popular advertising and the comic book motif”

http://www.biography.com/people/roy-lichtenstein-9381678 (2012) Describe his work.

Although Lichtenstein used stencils to achieve the mass produced effect I have read that he would try to paint every one and was not happy if his brush strokes could be seen.

Hopeless 1967

                                  Image Accessed at: http://www.acfineartsite.com/RL.html
                                                           (Date accessed:  11^th April 2012)

Many of Lichtensteins works were either of war, power or helpless, hopeless female angst caught in the comic strip style that epitomised his works.  Although he primarily worked as a painter he also incorporated the use etchings, sculpture and lithographs to produce his prints.

References

Payne, O.  (2012) History Part II:  Modern Art. Available at:

 http://www.op-art.co.uk/history/op-art-history-part-ii/ (Accessed: 11 April 2012)

http://www.biography.com/people/roy-lichtenstein-9381678 (2012) (Accessed:  12th April 2012)

Peter Saville ( Graphic Designer & Art Director)

Image available at: http://showstudio.com/contributor/peter_saville

(Date Accessed:  10^th April 2012)

Peter Saville studied Graphic Design at Manchester Polytechnic from 1975-78. He co-founded  Factory Records in 1979.  He designed some of their first posters.  He then went on to design record sleeves for the label notably for several New Order and Joy Division albums.

Throughout his career he moved between Manchester, London  and LA opening design consulatancies and working alongside an increasingly growing portfolio of Clients. 

His high profile design clients evolved from bands wanting a cool album cover to a plethora of clients who asked him to art direct their designs including Dior, Givenchy and Selfridges.

Here are some of my favourite designs that he has produced.

New Order- Technique

Image Accessed at:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/gallery/2011/may/29/joydivision-neworder#/?picture=375040544&index=6

(Date Accessed: 10^th April 2012)

 Saville rented the Cherub for the shoot and used it to represent the good and bad elements of the music scene at the time.  Whilst there was a financial crash approaching  the people partied on in a haze of drug-fuelled Hedonism.   He describes the Technique sleeve as “my first iconic work: all the previous sleeves were in some way idealistic and utopian”. 

Peter Saville on his album cover artwork (Grundy 2011)

Ultravox-The Thin Wall

Image accessed at:  http://heim.etherweave.com/weblog/archives/000387.html                             (Date Accessed:  8^th April 2012)

 

Saville used this surrealist image in a largely unthreatening way.  Rather drawing you towards the music than trying to forcefully capture you. 

Clearly at the cutting edge of his field his ideas and concepts are employed by many a creative mind.

He designed an Alphabet designed entirely out of colours.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHqZ9OQ22PM&feature=fvsr

(Avantmode 2006)

References

Avantmode (2006) Peter Savilles Alphabet.  Available at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHqZ9OQ22PM&feature=fvsr (Accessed:  9^th April 2012)

Grundy, G. (2011) “Peter Saville on his album cover artwork”, The Observer, Culture, 29^th May 2011 [Online].  Available at: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/gallery/2011/may/29/joydivision-neworder#/?picture=375040544&index=6 (Accessed 10^th April 2012).