Week Five

Agence Eureka perfects the collection of vintage prints by gathering a diverse assortment of old advertisements, games boards, type-face catalogs and graphics from children’s books. The blog displays a wide range of antiquated prints but the defining characteristic that makes this collection so valuable is that all of the pieces are traditional old-fashioned designs. The French blog exhibits a profound dedication in searching for the works in the extensive land of aged bookstores, leading one to believe that these works are as unique as they are dated. 

http://www.printeresting.org/2011/02/28/bookmark-it-agence-eureka/

Intaglio

SALVADORE DALI

Three Young Surrealist Women Holding In Their Arms the Skins of an Orchestra

Myself At the Age of Six

Women With a Head of Roses

The Apotheosis of Homer

      The most inspiring artist I’ve come across would have to be Salvadore Dali. I’m not sure if a gesture is formally associated with only animations of one’s body, but if that’s the case than Dali managed to turn every facet of his works into a gestural caricature. I own a book filled with his art but the most memorable paintings I’ve seen that elicit emotion and underlying sentiments would have to be those without strictly human characters. Dali revolutionized the Surrealist movement by infiltrating every form of media and production with his art. Rather, he was a Surrealist who revolutionized art. He chose to communicate through dreamscapes, which is a cryptic gesture to decipher when the message always represents something that represents something that represents something else.

       My interpretation of the gestures in his work would have to be culminated madness. His work is very busy, sometimes bossy, often disarrayed, yet always serene. Like how a dream’s most possessive feature is the sense of normalcy one feels while witnessing utter chaos. Sometimes people feel more in their dreams than they do in real life, which elicits the question, what is more real? The manifestations of your mind, or the qualia of your manifested life. I suppose the difference between the gesture of a dream and a first person gesture would be in the viewer. One is being received and the other is being watched. A dream lives and grows with no barracks in regards to the audience. The audience is the peeping tom and what they witness can only leave them continually confused and possessed by the puzzling appeal. The gesture I identify in Dali’s work is it’s mystery. The mystery of never being able to perceive what is taking place beyond your own eyes. The observation of endless possibilities and transcending speculation without a formulated answer. The existence of reality. That is what I see gesticulated.

SOURCES:

1. From Critical Paranoia to Uncritical Banality:
100 Years of Salvador Dalí and 25 of Jeff Koons

http://www.artcritical.com/DavidCohen/SUN52.htm

2. Artcylclopedia

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/dali_salvador.html

3. How Salvador Dali Worked by Jessika Toothman

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/artwork/salvador-dali.htm

4. Surreal World By Lindsey Aspinall

http://articles.mcall.com/2006-02-01/news/3656154_1_surrealism-salvador-dali-philadelphia-museum

Second Assignment

                      STEADMAN & THE CANNONBALL PRESS                         

CANNONBALL PRESS

RALPH STEADMAN (FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS)

     A lot of the artwork produced by the group reminds me of Ralph Steadman illustrations. Steadman is a famous illustrator who creates political and social caricatures (most notably known for his work for Hunter S. Thompson's Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas). His work emanates certain sadistic and exaggerated nuances similar to the Cannonball Press. A lot of Steadman’s work denotes a sense of chaos, even when no particular situation is being expressed.

                             RALPH STEADMAN                                   CANNONBALL PRESS

Although the Carnival is an apparent reoccurring theme for the Cannonball Press, there are several other cryptic messages that illicit exclusive introspection of the artists. I think this peculiar facet is mandatory in a piece of work that creates interest, and both Steadman and the Cannonball Press display memorable portrayals of enigmatic parts of themselves.

          CANNONBALL PRESS                                RALPH STEADMAN

       A lot of the graphics appear to be loud, frenetic, and full of movement.  Neither of the artists would be acknowledged as versatile in my opinion, instead they capture a consistent style and manifested personality throughout their work. Similarly, the observing majority probably either loves or hates the outspoken personalities being conveyed. I think they’re both pretty bitchin.

CANNONBALL PRESS

                                                       RALPH STEADMAN

                                        THIS IS APPEALING

        These Specific prints are slightly obscene and very appealing. There is a focal point in each of the pictures which contrasts from the prints that are heavily saturated with commotion. Although some of the pictures are a little lewd, they depict a tangible character or message. I think that the approach of profanity in order to be heard is entirely misunderstood by most and contrary to myopic misinterpretation, is an affective way to communicate one’s thoughts via artwork. Some may be repulsed or offended by the explicit material but those people are boring and have no swagger. I’d rather have some simulated brain activity in response to looking at a representation of someone than feel as if I’ve seen it a hundred times before. More importantly I have no idea what’s going on here, I’d rather not think about it, and these people seem delightfully absurd so I don’t intend on finding out. 

                            THIS IS WHAT I THINK IS GOING DOWNN

I think this incredibly apathetic individual is watching an octopuss massacre a farm, maybe the petting zoo at the carnival. I know he's not the octopuss because, although people can be half octopuss, they never kill cows without watching. That pointy thing is either a wand or a giant splinter which would explain why this octopuss is so mad. 

This reminds me of a slave because it states "dig" like its some kind of order. He also appears to be melting which would signify it's hott out. He's wearing shoes that look like baseball caps, maybe because he's in quicksand. I think this slave decided to dig a bottle of moonshine out of quicksand and now he's melting. That's probably a valuable metaphor for something.

This bird is totally fried. I'm surprised he has the motivation to carry around a human being for his meal but the munchies ensue some odd cravings so it's not that weird. I think there is a message in this being a bald eagle, which is symbolic of America. That man looks like an action figure that is dismayed by the fact that he wont be smoking any of that blunt. The bird seems kinda mellow though so maybe he'll smoke him up. This is clearly a message that we need to stop hunting bald eagles or else America will run out of weed.

First Assignment Vocabulary

1. Apostolic- adjective

1. of or characteristic of an apostle.

2. pertaining to or characteristic of the 12 apostles.

3. derived from the apostles in regular succession.

4. of or pertaining to the pope; papal.

2. Piety- noun

1. reverence for god or devout fulfillment of religious obligations.

2. the quality or state of being pious.

3. dutiful respect or regard for parents, homeland, etc.  

4. a pious aact, remark, belief, or the like.

3. Fluxus- noun

1.  A 1960s art philosophy that celebrated life as living art, condemned the
   commercialization of art and culture, and praised simple, hand-made craft;                 2.  Flux is a material used to prevent the oxidation of the joints when fusing metals;                                                                                                                                       3.  A flux is a moment of change;
4.  A Latin word which means “to flow”.

4. Epithet– noun

1. Any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality.

2. A characterizing word or phrase firmly associated with a person or thing and often used in place of an actual name, title, or the like, as “man's best friend” for “dog.”

3. A word, phrase, or expression used invectively as a term of abuse or contempt, to express hostility, etc.

5. Ostensible –adjective

1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended.

2. apparent, evident, or conspicuous.

First Assignment

1.       Gutengerg’s achievements assisted in the revolution of storing and spreading information through his formation of the printing press. Innovating a more durable type made of lead, tin, and antinomy, he created a source of mass production for the time. This was a catalyst in attaining and storing information by multiplying the output and decreasing the expense of books.  His actions modernized communication and common knowledge amongst society. This was systematic to the Renaissance because it assisted in rebelling against the Clergy through the modernization of communication and common knowledge/ learning rate in society. The Renaissance also amplifies a pivotal moment in the founding of education and how the printing press helped facilitate it.

2.       These advances continue to infiltrate and reconstruct current day culture in various ways such as the internet, mass production, stamps and variances of those methods. The internet is a transcending source for imagery, whether copied or original and also provides the ability to transform pictures into tangible prints. Mass production supplies us with the ability to spread infinite copies of otherwise unattainable art. Stamps are a similar method of transferring graphics and can be easily customized.

3.       Photocopier art provides another form of mass production in a less authentic, more up-to-date form. A photocopier scans images, leaving out some of the details that make the original unique. Some alterations arise through the scanning and printing of images but are usually not intentional. A printing press produces authentic prints each time using the same source (which supplies a constant unchanged replication of the original minutiae. 

4.