Shape and Color

Below are works by two 20th century artists. One is by Henri Matisse a French painter that came to fame through his bold use of color. And the other is Wassily Kandinsky a Russian painter who worked with the abstraction of shape and color to change what western civilization considers fine art. I chose these two to show how they made shape and color uniquely theirs.

Matisse uses color boldly and outrageously. He was a part of the Fauvist movement, that emphasized bold color.Using this piece as an example, One may find these colors in nature but not the way that he depicts in his painting. The viewer can look at this and see that this is no realistic color but we still read it as a normal landscape. Even though the colors are strong the shading is correct. Matisse was conscious of how color worked and he used his knowledge to create 20th century masterpieces.

Kandinsky is a more abstract example of shape and color being used in works of art. When the viewer looks at his painting they quickly realize that this is abstract. We try to make out what each “figure” is and come up with some meaning for this painting. He uses that to his advantage. There is a lot of implied movement here in this piece. Starting with the two vertical lines in the middle of the piece that seperate the work in half, that gives the piece a sense of stability surrounded by the chaos everything else surrounding it.

Henri Matisse – View of Collioure

Wassily Kandinsky Composition IV

Juxtaposition

I’ve been listening to a lot of different music lately, I am going to try and post a new song every week. I try to listen to different music because I do not want to be confined to a certain genre. I chose this song because it fit with the title of my post. The song is melodic and beautiful but the content is anything but. It deals with drugs, alcohol, and religion. I also really like the design on the album. The silhouettes of the two, I am going to say they are cowboys,  are implying motion. We read it as motion even though they are not really moving. The color clearly separates the two from one another. There is blue in the top left corner that imply the sky and the diagonals beneath the cowboys, which I read as grass, implies that there is some movement or that things are not stable.

A.A. Bondy. Vice Rag. Fat Possum Records. Web. 2007.

Steez

Hello blogosphere the name is Dennis Zaragoza and this is my first blog. I’m a senior at Gardner-Webb majoring in Creative Writing. The only job I’ve ever wanted since the age of 13 is to be a professional skateboarder. I am not to sure that will pan out though. So I am putting all my eggs in the author basket. I love music my favorite band is Modest Mouse an indie rock band. My favorite individual musician is Curtis Mayfield a soul, R&B, Funk singer. My favorite actor is Denzel Washington and my favorite visual artist is Jean-Michel Basquiat. Look him up.
I apologize for the random listing of some of my favorite things my thoughts seem to be all over the place these days. I am the biggest documentary fan in the world I promise you. I almost forgot to mention that I love the Blue Ridge Mountains, my home.

I’ve been reading a lot lately but more Kerouac than anything else. Each of the authors I’ve read bring something different to the table. They each have a unique perspective all their own. To me it seems that style is an important part of being a writer. I don’t think authors purposefully create their own style it comes naturally. When they write something its them on that page. I can’t say I have a favorite author because the library of books I have read is not big, yet. For now I would say its Kerouac seeing how I have read more of his books than any other author. He has influenced me more on my belief about style more than anything now that I think about it. I think reading is just as important as writing if you want to be an author.

As I stated on the first day of class I took this class because of Kaitlyn but now that I’ve realized how useful this class will be, I am starting to see the other benefits that this class will bring. It is going to give me a basis in blogging and will help with understanding how artists work with modern media. Text has moved from a page to a digital screen. I’ve always wanted to start a blog but I was afraid my friends would think I am some pretentious hipster ready to make a name for himself. Bob Marley said “If you don’t start somewhere, you’re gonna go nowhere” I think that’s a good philosophical approach to anything.