Alex Explores Art

    The countercultural wave of the 1960s unleashed a torrent of influences on the art world, including the civil rights movement, the sexual revolution, Eastern spirituality, New Age philosophy, and the popular use of psychedelic compounds like LSD. At the same time, the political atmosphere of the Cold War and the Space Race kept the world in a state of tension and awe. With this blog I'm going to examine how some artists took these influences to heart, producing colorful, mind-bending images full of radical new ideas. Mati Klarwein, Nativity (1961 ) Image courtesy of Mati Klarwein's website .     Klarwein uses all the color without remorse, but he demonstrates masterful control of tone in the central subject. Tiny head aside, the woman is painted in a highly realistic manner, including bodily imperfections and tan lines. A cohesive aesthetic clearly isn't what Klarwein was striving for here. The rainbow colored cloak has the optical texture of a woven fabric, whil...

    The first World War came at a time when modern art was beginning to flourish. Artists were experimenting with color, perspective, and form in exciting new ways. The paintings just below are outside the scope of this analysis, but serve as examples of the multifarious kinds of images that were being created just prior to the advent of World War I. All images above courtesy of Obelisk . Please visit the link for more information.     When global war broke out in 1914, there was a perceptible impact on art. The vivacity on display in the above images was generally replaced by a more somber aesthetic and darker subject matter. Even as artists continued to explore their own eclectic styles, their output changed in response to the anxiety that swept across the globe. Romaine Brooks,  The Cross of France  (1914) Public domain image courtesy of  Wikimedia Commons .     In The Cross of France , a Red Cross nurse stands looking on with a deter...

     The 1800's marked the emergence of a variety of sharply contrasting genres including Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Luminism, and Art Nouveau. For this analysis I've chosen to focus on Realism and Impressionism, two styles that could hardly be more at odds in their ideas and technique.      Picking a winner and loser wasn't easy. All of the styles of the Romantic era are dear to me, particularly the medievalist paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites and the Luminism of the Hudson River School. But Impressionism holds a special place in my heart for how radically it disrupted the art world. With Impressionism, artists began to tap into a realm of sensations that are almost too abstract to otherwise describe. Impressionism opened the doors for Expressionism, Cubism, Visionary art, etc.— styles that transform our perception of reality.     To that end, I've pitted my chosen champion against Realism. I don't by any means dislike Realism--the mov...

    The moral values expressed by artists working during the Classica era were sharply divided between two movements. Rococo art was almost universally lighthearted and irreverent, featuring playful depictions of aristocratic subjects enjoying lives of luxury and leisure. The Neoclassicists, influenced by the Age of Enlightenment and a renewed interest in the art and politics of ancient Greece and Rome, espoused values of moderation and rationality.     In this exhibit I will be comparing a series of paintings from the Rococo and Neoclassical movements. I've selected six paintings, three belonging to each movement, in order to analyze their differing styles, influences, and moral attributes. Angelica Kauffman, Cornelia Pointing to Her Children as Her Treasures (1785) Image courtesy of The Art Daily With Lydia .     Kauffman, notably the first female artist to be featured on this blog, possessed the seemingly miraculous ability to paint beautiful women witho...