Art History Online -Final Exam

Gabrielle Ramirez, a 19 year old full time student and part time worker, opened Gabrielle's Gallery in May of 2014 in the little town of Redlands, CA. Works of all different varieties of art are shown at this gallery such as paintings, sculptures, photography, and murals. Her goal is to produce shows exposing very talented artist while producing a common theme.

Coming Of Age

WHO?
* Vivian Maier
* Harry Benson
* Bruno Walpoth
* Rochelle Carr
* Svetlana Novikova
* Jimmy Ovadia
* Young & Sick
* Peter Ravn
* Michael Foley
* Yunior Hurtado

WHAT?
Coming of age is when one experiences the transition between the young life to adulthood. The art pieces in this exhibition reflect how one feels during this transition. The emotions and thoughts that one experiences are shown throughout these works of art. Right now I feel as though I am coming of age. I'm transitioning between periods of life, experiencing new things and taking on responsibilities. That is why I chose this theme. Enjoy!

Youth

Yunior Hurtado. Compasion Compleja. Oil Painting. 72x55. 2012

Yunior Hurtado is known to be one of the best modern cuban artist today. He has studied the fine arts since age 11 and although he is well educated on sculpting, printmaking, and drawing, he enjoys oil painting. He states that the subjects in his works "stand out as being important, symbolic of everything that surrounds us somehow." This painting of a young girl connects to my theme because of her youth. The vibrant colors and texture Hurtado created really bring out the liveliness in the subject. The subject looks young and free, but also mature. I think that really describes ones being when they are in the state of coming of age.

Limbo

Michael Foley. Stuck In Limbo. Giclee canvas print. 12 x 18. 2012.

Michael Foley is a freelance painter who typically paints scenes of fantasies and dreams. Onibatsu.com states that "underneath the saturated colors and cartoon-like imagery you find mature works looking deeply into the human condition," when discussing his work. I think that is apparent in this painting in particular. The subject seems to be searching for a way out. The title Stuck In Limbo, is a phrase that can be used in the meaning that one is stuck. Stuck in a moment in life when they don't know where to go next. When one is coming of age there are times when you can feel stuck and unsure of what moves to make next. 

Stressed

Peter Ravn. Schläfer. Oil on canvas. 80×100 cm. 2014

Peter Ravn is a Danish who typically paints men in a state of distress or discomfort. He has been painting since the 1980's and certainly found himself in the theme of these modern business men. Peter states, "My work conditions of interactions and the relationship between the individual and norms of society."

Although this painting, like most of his others, is of an older man, I feel as though the emotion he is expressing connects to my theme. In the transition between child to adult one can feel very overwhelmed and stress. I think Ravn did an amazing job at expressing that emotion of self-pity that we have all experienced.

Thinking

Vivian Maier. 1955. New York, NY. Photograph. 16" x 20". 1955.

Vivian Maier was a young street photographer from New York who started taking snapshots in the early 1950's to 1990. She spent much of her life traveling the world, taking over one hundred thousand pictures of the world surrounding her. Most of her negatives were unseen until recently reconstructed to impress the world. 

It's obvious in her photos that Vivian wanted to capture the raw and real people that she encountered throughout her life. Noah Berlatsky of The Atlantic stated, "When you buy a Vivian Maier photo, you buy her life, not her work" in December 2013. The subject of this particular photo is a young African American male sitting in what is possibly Central Park. His suit and book in his lap leaves you to believe he is either a student or new business man. His facial expression is one of discomfort. Maybe it is from stress or maybe he is reflecting on his life, wondering what's next? When one is coming of age, those are all reoccurring emotions and thoughts that are reflected very well in this photo. I believe Vivian truly enjoyed capturing people in their moments of thought.

Young Love

Harry Benson. Berlin Kiss. Archival Pigment Photograph. 40" x 50". 1996.

Harry Benson is a photojournalist that has captured moments of some of the most famous people in the world. Working with TIME Magazine from the 1970's to 90's he had the duty of taking photos of important figures such as political figures, musicians, and actors. 

Although there is not much background information on this particular work of Benson's. Holden Luntz Gallery states that Benson, "spent over 60 years making sure he was in the right place at the right time." I believe that is exactly what happened in this moment. Benson was able to capture the moment of two lovers sharing a moment. This connects to the theme because when one is coming of age, love is always on their mind. You're young and ready to experience that feeling of love. Whether you're looking or waiting, it's sure to cross your mind. This photo really captures two people that are young and in love.

Reminiscing

Bruno Walpoth. Ricordi d'infanzia. Wood. cm. 76 x 41 x 28. 2012

Bruno Walpoth is an artist of drawing, sculpting, and impressions. He uses small tools to carve wood into human figures that are extremely detailed and life-like. He has been sculpting since the early 1970's and has truly made a name for himself through his talents.

Looking through many of Bruno's works i noticed they all had the same blank face expression. But when I read the name of each sculpture the expressions and mood came alive through the sculpture. Some of his other works titles are "longing" and "don't ask me why". It is then easy to connect to the emotion of the sculpture. Bruno states that, "When I make my sculptures, I am not telling any stories... I am just trying to capture the moment. That moment—in which the model has vanished in his own thoughts and acts ‘absent’"

This piece of art, Ricordi d'infanzia, is Italian for "childhood memories." You can tell the girl is a young adult and is somewhat reminiscing on her childhood. The way she grabs her braid suggests that it reminds her of when she was younger. This sculpture connects to the theme because it is a time period when one is growing up and that causes you to look back and wish you were young again.

Abstract

Rochelle Carr, Coming of Age, Oil on canvas, 30" x 40", 2007.

Rochelle Carr is mainly an abstract painter that creates the sculpture on wood look by using many layers of paint. The artist states that one of the themes she lives by is "live out loud!" 

With that said, I believe it is very apparent that this painting is living out loud. The combination of bright colors mixed with dark in a abstract fashion really scream her theme. This motto coincides with the coming of age (the actual title of this piece) because it is a time in your life when you want to be free and just live out loud. Coming of Age is the most abstract time in your life in the sense that, things are changing and becoming unpredictable.

Exploring

Svetlana Novikova. New York City 42nd Street. Painting with palette knives in acrylic. 16" x 20". 2011.

Svetlana Novikova is a young artist from Moscow, Russia that specializes in vibrant contemporary paintings. She mostly paints still life and sceneries with oils, watercolors, and acrylics. She states that her goal is to "have an emotional impact on my viewer."

The emotional impact that this painting gave me was the feeling of adventure. The vibrant colors in this New York night scenery looks so inviting yet the blurriness gives off a sense of mystery. In the coming of age period in life its common to feel the need to explore and experience new things.

Free Thinker

Jimmy Ovadia. The Free Thinker. Painting. 18" x 20". 2009

Jimmy Ovadia is a painter known for his psychedelic imagery and use of color. He states that his paintings are "dreamlike portholes". Many of his paintings are these bizarre scenes with true meaning. Just like this work in particular. A man whose mind is somewhat exploding into a world of color. It really puts a twist on a free thinker, which is someone who is able to expand their mind. I believe that when one is coming of age,  they are constantly a free thinker. Always wondering what's next in life.

The Mural

Foster The People - Coming Of Age (Mural Time-Lapse)

Young & Sick. Supermodel. Painting on a Building. 148 ft x 126 ft. 2014

Young & Sick is a music and art project created by Nick Van Hofwegen. They specialize in creating artwork for musical artists and are currently signed with Harvest Records. Foster the People is an indie pop band that has had a few number one hits and is known for the messages and stories told in their songs. The video is a time-lapse of the making of the mural with the Foster the People song Coming of Age playing in the background. The mural was the largest mural constructed on the west coast according to lostateminor.com. The song tells the stories of growing up and being stuck in that transitional period. The mural itself is a painting of Foster The People's album cover for Supermodel. It is a girl bent over throwing up lyrics to their song. I feel as though this song and mural really tie the whole theme together. 

Conclusion

It wasn't easy. Reading the prompt for this project immediately got my brain stirring up different ideas and themes. Little did I know there was a lot more work and effort put into an exhibition than I thought. Thankfully, I only had to put together a blog. This exhibition blog gave me much insight on what it is like to be a curator. Organizing artists to accommodate a specific theme can be quite challenging, but very interesting. The most natural part of this process was finding works that I truly enjoyed. I searched and skimmed through many works but it was an instant feeling of gratification when I found a piece that I liked and felt that it connected to the theme.

I feel as though a curator is one of those interesting jobs that most people, who aren't in the business, don't think about. I learned that there is so much more to being a curator than just putting together art in the same room and calling it an exhibition. You need to be creative, artistic, and driven to find works that fit well together. There's so much planning and organizing in producing a successful exhibition. However it must feel very rewarding to put so much hard work into a project and seeing it flourish.
One thing I discovered is that all of these artists are alike in the sense that they have all lived. What I mean is that, although everyone experiences life differently, we all have experienced the same emotions at some point in our life. So when artists experience these emotions or feelings they paint, or draw, or sculpt to express themselves. And produce some truly amazing works of art.