Art 105 Leonid Afremov and Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall and Leonid Afremov had similar lives. Marc Chagall was born in Liozna near Vitebsk, Russia in 1887. Chagall was of Jewish descent, which in Russia and still to this day, is a hindrance. The Jewish people could not freely move around in Russia they were localized in their small community’s by the Russian government. Marc Chagall’s father was a poor herring merchant and his mother sold groceries out of their house. Marc Chagall’s mother wanted her son to attend high school, at the time Jewish children were not allowed to attend Russian schools, so his mother without hesitation paid the headmaster 50 rubles so he could attend high school. At high school, he saw a boy drawing and was totally fascinated by drawing, which is when he realized he would become a painter. Chagall started attending art school in 1906 at the Yehuda art school. Yuri Pen, the school of art, let Chagall attend for free, knowing that the young Chagall came from a poor family. Chagall realized quickly that he did not like academic portrait painting. Marc Chagall had went on a quest to learn everything there was about becoming a painter. Chagall first had to come to grip about his Jewish ancestry, he could either hide the fact he was Jewish or embrace it.  Marc Chagall decided to embrace his ancestry and be bold about being Jewish, not very popular at the time.  In later years art critic Robert Hughes, referred to Marc Chagall as “the quintessential Jewish artist of the twentieth century”.  Marc Chagall did not think of his work only as Jewish arts but someone who tried to encompass all humanity. This is one of the reasons Leonid Afremov considers Marc Chagall one of his mentors that he could look up too.

Leonid Afremov’s life resembles Marc Chagall’s life very closely. Afremov was born in July 1955 in Vitebsk, Belarus (formerly of the USSR). Leonid’s father was a shoemaker and his mother worked in a metal factory. Leonid attended Vitebsk Art School, which of Marc Chagall was an instructor in the early 20^th century at. Both Afremov and Chagall were persecuted for being Jewish. Both men grew up in poverty and lived under a Russian government that did not like or respect Jews. Neither one of them had the freedom to move around the country nor express their own view points of how they wanted to paint.  Leonid’s life was very bleak in his homeland, he had to make a living painting propaganda for the communist party. He could not express his view points at all.   In the end, both men had to leave Russia for their family’s safety. To this day, the Russian government still discriminates again Jewish people.

Leonid says he would like the viewer to feel the painting instead of giving out his own point of view of the painting. Everything Leonid paints is from personal inspiration during his travels. Leonid usually takes a photo of something that inspires him so he can relay the emotions of his painting to his audience.  One of the ways Leonid Afremov’s painting are used is in Art Therapy. You do not have to be an artist or know how to paint to understand Leonid’s work and the emotions that can come from his art. For example, Art Therapy is used with the elderly to help bring them out of their shell. A beautiful scenery portrait of Leonid’s can bring back emotions for an elderly patient. The patient can start talking about his or her past and the feelings they have when they see the portrait. It helps the counselors and the nursing staff to gauge if the patient is depressed or in a positive mood. With a child that is the victim of a crime, Leonid’s paintings of his cats or other animals can put the child at ease so the child can open up to the counselor and express their feelings. There are many types and fields of Art Therapy, but the main purpose of all Art Therapy is to help heal the patient.

Art Therapy needs artists that have gone through hell and back, and still know how to look at humanity with love and hope. The way they understand color and the effect it has on a person’s life is a benefit to all of us. Through color they show us how to get in touch with our emotions, if they are painful or not. If we did not have artists like Afremov and Chagall making art that inspires us to feel and appreciate the life around us, the world would be an emptier place.

Leonid Afremov paintings.

War of Feelings.

Last Kiss

Gone with the Rain

Lovers

Kittens

Romantic Cat

Close race.

Sad puppy.

MARC-CHAGALL-O-PINCEL-DA-LIBERDADE

Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall Paris Opera House Ceiling

Leonid Afremov and Marc Chagall are both great expressionistic painters. They bring to life their paintings through color and feelings. Both men love bold and strong colors. Afremov and Chagall want the viewer to feel the painting and make up their own mind on how to interpret the portrait they are viewing.

 

 

 

 

References

• Jeffrey,David Lyle. Meditation and Atonement in the Art of Marc Chagall. 2012, Academic Journal.
• Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6^th Edition;2013,Encyclopedic Reference.
• From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, Marc Chagall.
• www.art-wallpaper.net
• Leonid Afremov, www.Afremov.com Afremov’s biography.
• Leonid Afremov, http://www.youtube.com/user/afremovgallery

 

 

 

 

 

Leonid Afremov’s Bold Colors

            My presentation will be about how bold colors can bring healing to a person’s physique. Bold colors can affect any person’s mood. The colors on a painting can have either a calming effect or negative effect, which is why Leonid Afremov says he likes to paint very neutral paintings.  Leonid says he would like the viewer to rather feel the painting instead of giving out his own point of view of the painting. Everything Leonid paints is from personal inspiration during his travels. Leonid usually takes a photo of something that inspires him so he can relay the emotions of his painting to his audience. One of Leonid Afremov’s influences was Marc Chagall. Leonid’s and Chagall’s colors are usually very bold in a format of soft subject matter. Both Leonid Afremov’s and Marc Chagall’s works are used in Art Therapy. Afremov and Chagall’s lives are very similar, both are Jewish and lived under Russian tyranny.  Both of them were persecuted because of their Jewish ancestry and beliefs.

             Psychologists use art therapy to help the mentally ill or to help victims relay their feelings. One of the ways Leonid Afremov’s painting are used is in Art Therapy. You do not have to be an artist or know how to paint to understand Leonid’s work and the emotions that can come from his art. For example, Art Therapy is used with the elderly to help bring them out of the shell. A beautiful scenery portrait of Leonid’s can bring back emotions for an elderly patient. The patient can start talking about his or her past and the feelings they have when they see the portrait. It helps the counselors and the nursing staff to gauge if the patient is depressed or in a positive mood. With a little child that is victim of a crime, Leonid’s paintings of his cats or other animals can put the child at ease so the child can open up to the counselor and express their feelings. There are many types and fields of Art Therapy, but the main purpose of all Art Therapy is to help heal the patient.

             Art Therapy needs artists that have gone through hell and back, and still know how to look at humanity with love and hope. The way they understand color and the effect it has on a person’s life is a benefit to all of us. Through color they show us how to get in touch with our emotions if they are painful or not. If we did not have artists like Afremov and Chargall making art that inspires us to feel and appreciate the life around us, the world would be an emptier place.

Leonid’s Kitten portrait. When you look at this painting, right away you go to the kitten’s eyes. The kitty to the left, his eyes look very angry and piercing. In the middle the orange kitten looks very calm, and the white kitten to the right his eyes look very wise. Leonid’s background is that of very bold colors using yellow and oranges. The oranges look very lively, but soft at the same time. When you look under the white kitty to the right you see dark colors of blue and black at the bottom, showing that you have to go through some rough patches to be wise.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures of Leonid. The romantic cat. I love the different colors of blues. And how the cat looks like he is surrounding his love. I like how whimsical love looks. With the reds and the oranges you can feel the passion in this painting.

Angel of Love. This is truly a beautiful and up lifting painting. Leonid uses a lot of bold colors here. The whites merging with the blues are very exciting; they make you feel like dancing.

 

Marc Chagall’s painting of the Madonna is very comforting. Look at how his blues,yellows, and oranges are very soft. Here you see a town being blessed by Madonna and the angels.

Marc Chagall: O PINCEL DA LIBERDADE, MARC CHAGALL

First thing I notice with this paint are the reds, how very soft they are. Also your eyes go to the little bird on his shoulder right away.  I like the theme how music can carry you away. 

Linear Perspective: Renaissance and Modern Times

   

 

 

 

        Filippo Brunelleschi rediscovered linear perspective in the early 1400s. Brunelleschi’s objective was to show artists how they could paint their pieces outside of two dimensions by using his method to create three dimensional paintings. I will show you how two different modern artists use linear perspective in their work.           

            Modern artists like 3D. Joe Hill and the late Max Lowry use linear perspective in mostly everything they create.  When you see their art, it is mind blowing. It is very beautiful to look at, but some of their 3D paintings can get you dizzy. Joe started his career when he was in his 30’s, he first started drawing in chalk on sidewalks. When people started taking pictures next to his chalk drawing’s he was surprised and very thrilled that his work was appreciated.  Joe had a challenge, how could he draw his work so people could interact with what he was drawing. He came up with the idea of drawing 3D art on large canvases where people could walk on it and be part of his paintings.  You can look at Joe’s painting from the sidelines or can actually be on the painting and get a totally different look on how the painting is supposed to be.  Joe really wants people to interact with his work. That is what brings him the most joy from his work.

            Brusspup is another new artist of the day by using Brunelleschi’s methods with illusion. Brusspup shows how illusion can be used with the linear perspective. He demonstrates how optical illusions can be seen from different lines of sight. One of his videos on youtube starts off by seeming like random colored papers on a wall. Then when he moves back and zooms out and closes a door and then a window, you can see a totally different idea of what the colored paper is supposed to represent, the apple logo. Another video shows how his drawing looks very realistic and fools the eye. Then when he starts moving the drawings around, you realize it just a paper and not the 3D object you thought it was.

            In conclusion, Filippo Brunelleschi’s linear perspective method is used to this day. Very different modern day artists use this method to show how to create a very life like painting. Architecture also uses this method to show different perspective of a building, so it can bring out the aesthetics of the building.

Brusspup youtube channel.

Joe Hill interview.

The Circle Game

My son and I went to the Tucson Museum of Art. We were lucky because they were appraising people’s art works, because of that we got in free.  There were four main exhibits, but the one I liked the most was called “The Circle Game.” This exhibit is based on using the circle in modern art. I found the “The Circle Game” the most exciting because it reminds me of Cubism which I really fell in love with. I feel like Cubism and “The Circle Game” are related in a very simple form of math.

 

The Circle Game received its name from the Joni Mitchell song “The Circle Game.”  Circles are a naturally occurring shape. Circles have been around from the beginning of time. They have been found in Native American’s culture to the Celtic’s and to the Chinese.  Circles have been used to represent time in some cultures. In India the circle represent Chakras, a form of energy for the yogi. Also our ancestors in primitive times used the circle to represent man with sticks as arms and legs. In modern art the circle is representing balance.

 

Paul Reed, Until #4 1965, oil painting is very simple, but very beautiful at the same time. It takes the simple form of a circle, and lets the viewer make up their own mind on how the person should feel.  Augustine Fernandez’s, Abstraction 1968, acrylic painting is very odd. I am not sure what to think about this one. The form is of a circle, but I don’t know if he is using balls, or breasts sticking out of a canvas. Fernandez’s, Abstraction, could possibly be noses sticking out of a canvas.   This is the beauty of the simple form of a circle. “The Circle Game” can be anything the viewer wants it to be.
            With Cubism, it is a breakdown of a simple cube or a simple form, then put it together again with a layering effect. The Circle Game is almost the same, but instead of something being broken down, like in Cubism, the circle is being added on to. With the circle there is no beginning and ending.

 

            On the whole I did enjoy the Tucson Museum of Art, I did wish it had more displays of art representing The Circle Game.  It also would have been nice if there were some pieces of art that we could touch. I would have loved to have been able to feel a real piece of art, to try and feel what the artist was trying to say.  Spending time at the Museum with my son turned out to be a good day. My son liked the Museum, but he was scared I was going to knock things over in my power chair.

 

Terrie Rockwell

Terrie Rockwell

Allergorical

of, relating to, or having the characteristics of allegory

:  having hidden spiritual meaning that transcends the literal sense of a sacred text

I like my Art class. It is opening me up to new ideas. I really never thought much about art. Now I can see how a painter can bring out your emotions. Artists can either help you feel great or show your sorrow that you feel. I have learned there are different types of paintings in different categories. I thought there were just oil paintings and religious paintings with nothing special about them. But when you look at allegoric paintings you can actually feel the deeper emotion the artist is trying to convey.
I like Terrie Rockwell’s “Pieta” painting. It shows no mother can escape the pain of motherhood. Even if your child is healthy and happy one day, you will feel the pain of motherhood.  If you notice the yellow background of the painting, the artist is trying to convey hope. The yellow is the hope that all mothers might feel at peace one day. I like to see this painting as Loss and Hope, which is my personal take of this piece. J

Frank Frazetta

 

My first time I ever saw Frank Frazetta’s art was breath taking. I was thirteen at the time; I was wondering around a book store looking for something to read. I saw Frazetta’s book just calling out to me. The book cover was flashy of course but that was Frank’s style.  I loved the colors that he used for his paintings, the colors were so bold. Frazetta’s style of the human form was so new to me. He made the human’s form with muscles and depth that I never saw before. That was the first time I ever fell in love with art. Since then, I have seen mostly every drawing, painting and print of Frazetta’s. My love affair with art started with Frank Frazetta and his bold style.

My Introduction:

Hello, my name is Lisa, and I am starting this blog to learn about art and writing. I will be sharing my opinions on artists that I am learning about and artists I already know about.  I will be sharing my progress on learning to write and starting this blog gives me the opportunity to learn both at the same time.

To all my viewers, please give me the opportunity to apologize in advance about my poor writing style. I am a beginner writer so my grammar is lacking and so is my style. I hope to get better with practice.
Thank you, Lisa.