Rene Magritte was known for his surrealist paintings. This piece, "Black Magic" is a great example of a great piece of his and also of figure drawing. I will never be able to express the amount of appreciation I have for this and most of the rest of his work. The body is practically perfect and looks almost like a picture; everything is proportional and looks so real and beautiful. The shadows are all in the right places and the woman looks real.
I admire all the artists for their need for self-identity that differs largely from anyone else. They all had their reasons for their artwork, whether it was to feel more at home, tell history thru art, or just to express yourself and whatever may be tugging at the corners of your mind. Kiki Smith's work had a lot to do with still, quiet death images. Most of her work may seem rather disturbing, but whose work isn't? Looking into someone's mind and heart takes guts and to lay yourself bare for all teh world to see is even more courageous. This may be a portrait of death, but it could also be telling something about herself. Maybe she is trying to draw a connection between herself and the unaccepted Wiccans during that Salem Witch Trials, maybe she's trying to show her shyness thru the hair that's covering the woman's head, the position of the feet, the light and slightly dark colors. All in all, I find what she does beautiful.
i really loved both, kiki smith, and kara walker. Both seemed to have this confidence about there work, and know why they do it. The meaning behind both artists work is very interesting. Kara has this internal and external struggle that she portrays with these cutouts, and to have such a "simple" medium convey such an enormous response is to me the main reason for being an artist. Kiki Smith on the other hand is great, one, because she says that it doesnt just take talent to become what she has become but hard work, from her self, and the many people she has on staff with her. She really concentraits on the feministic view of the world and old world myths and takes her art into that realm of untouchable, but really speaking to us directly. i loved both of them.
I chose this piece because Picasso’s pictures are different from other artists. Unlike other artists, he viewed and drew objects differently, like abstracted pictures. There are five nude women in this piece who were partially draped in white sheets, stared out of the painting at the on looker. Their bodies have been flattened, making them sharp and angular which looked kind of aggressive. Besides the two figures in the middle, their faces look as if they are hidden behind masks, having been disfigured by the bold blocks of color and shading. When I see this piece, its looks sharp and violent. But the flow of the white and blue material makes the scene feel a lot calmer. People may dislike when they see this picture but to me, it attracts attention.
