Museums

I came across this article and it was really interesting. It talks about how people view art in museums, specifically with the influx of cameras, phones, etc. I think some good points are made in the article. I know that while I love going to museums, I am often a quick viewer; I don't generally read the blurb on the side of the piece, I look at the painting and I move along. I also like to take pictures when it's allowed in a museum, a lot of times it's a museum that I won't get to visit very often and with my own pictures I can go back and experience the art again and remember when I was there.

Sometimes it's hard to feel like you can fully enjoy a museum at your leisure. I loved getting to visit the big museums in Italy, but by necessity (there were hoards of people at the Vatican museum the Academia and the Uffizi) a lot of them were a very controlled path through the museum, no doubling back, it wasn't always possible to take as much time with pieces of art as one might wish. (I might also add that I know you're not allowed to take pictures in the Academia and I'm a little shocked when I see so many pictures of the David on social media from inside the museum, I don't blame the guards for being so cranky, no one listens to them).
I have noticed though, that when I am able to return to museums regularly I'm able to really gain better appreciation of the pieces I see, there are still pieces I blow by because I don't care for them (I can be a snob about art) but there are pieces that I come to love more and more with each visit.
Anyway it was a thought provoking article for me.

Kandinsky and a master study

So looking back on the dates of my master studies, I haven't done one since May... it's been a busy summer. Anyway, I decided it was high time that I got back to that. Here's my latest study, still from the same da Vinci study.

Also, I don't know if I've mentioned this but I love back to school (even though I haven't been back to school in years) and it get's me excited to get back on track after perhaps a summer of getting lax. As part of that this year I'm getting back on track with reading (pleasure and educational). I've tried multiple times to read multiple works of Wassily Kandinsky (I even own two) and I've never really been able to get much out of them. I keep trying because they came up a lot in some of my art classes. Anyway I've decided to take another stab at Kandinsky's Point and Line To Plane. I've been going very slowly and really working at making sure I understand what he's saying. So far I've been really intrigued by what I've read. I've really liked the points he's made, so I'm going to share a bit.

"The general viewpoint of our day, that it would be dangerous to "dissect" art since such dissection would inevitably lead to art's abolition, originated in an ignorant under-evaluation of these elements thus laid bare in their primary strength.

Painting and Other Art Expressions

In reference to analytical examinations, the art of painting, strangely enough, assumes a special position among the varrious forms of art expression. Architecture, for example, by its nature closely bound up with utility, consequently requires from its very start a certain degree of scientific capacities. Music, which serves no practical use (with the exception of march and dance music) and which has until now remained abstract, has long developed its theory; perhaps so far it is only one sided but, nevertheless, it is constantly being developed. Thus these two diametrically opposite forms of art expression have a scientific basis about which no one seems to feel offended."

pages 17-18

So what I get out of this (and I could still be getting it wrong) is Kandinsky's saying that visual art lacks theory, that you should be able to pick it apart somewhat, like in music you might be able to say that this is a symphony, it has this movement and that movement, etc. that it's a little ridiculous that you can't really say the same about a lot of art, here's this element of composition, or this part builds to this part. It was over a hundred years ago that he wrote all this but I absolutely agree with him. Even if you want to ignore or break the rules, you've got to know them first. Anyway, those are my thoughts.

Skill versus "expression"

I read this article the other day and it's really been making me think. The article is about "de-skilling" in art education, I'm having a hard time summing up what they mean by de-skilling but the article really does explain it well.
I believe there are lots of fantastic art educators out there, I've been lucky enough to learn with some of them, but there are also lack luster art educators.
My first year of college, studying art there were many class debates on the definition of art, long and heated debates that never got anywhere. It was very discouraging, how many subjects do you know that can't clearly define themselves?
My turning point was a professor who had a clear, simple definition that rang true with me: art is craftsmanship plus inspiration.
Craftsmanship! there we go, a lack of craftsmanship! Or a lack of appreciation for craftsmanship, that's what they mean when they say de-skilling. I had some classes that were so much less about learning the skill of the class, as they were about learning or perfecting art skills, as they were about expressing oneself, I got my only 'c' in college in such a class. (I will admit that I was out of my element in the class and had no previous experience in the medium, but I did put real effort in and completed all my assignments.)
Getting back to topic, while one's style of art may not be academic realism, how could it possibly be a set back to have more knowledge of art and more skills? Picasso, Monet, etc. all studied academic methods before landing upon their various styles.
I don't know if I got this all out in the way I wanted but if nothing else I hope people will read the article and think about the issue.

Words of wisdom from Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci is one on the most famous artists of all time (deservedly so) and he is one of my favorite artists and art heroes. I love da Vinci's art and I love being able to read his writings and thoughts. I have this book called Leonardo da Vinci in His Own Words, which is full of great da Vinci quotes on a variety of subjects. This is some of what da Vinci had to say about art.

"Painting does not have the need for interpreters for different languages as does literature."

"Truly painting is a science, the trueborn child of nature, for painting is born of nature, but to be more correct we should call it the grandchild of nature; since all visible things were brought forth by nature and these her children have given birth to painting. Therefore we may justly speak of it as the grandchild of nature and as related to God."

"Painting is the way to learn to know the maker of all marvelous things."