“Beauty around you”

“Beauty around you”
Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo.
Acrylic on canvas
61 x 55 cm
2009
Colima, Col. México.

This is another work of art that I made. This landscape is inspired on the same painting that you are going to see in a moment.

I want you to make your own interpretation about it.

What do you think?

“The Church at Varengeville”

“The Church at Varengeville”
Claude Monet
Oil on canvas
65 x 81cm
1882
Original held in the J.B. Speed Art Museum, Louisville (KY)
(Art of Monet. November 8, 2009. http://www.artofmonet.com/Home_Page.htm)

My own work of art:

“Mundo Pequeño” (Small World)
Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo.
Acrylic and plaster on wood MDF
75 x 65 cm
2009
Colima, Col. México.

Mundo pequeño (Small World):

This work of art is something that was born inside of me. When I saw Monet´s painting, I felt that I was dreaming. I felt that the time stopped for a second. In that moment, an idea came to my mind.

In Monet´s painting I saw something very interesting: the two trees in the front of the landscape, those two trees are there, alone, and behind them, there is a beautiful landscape.
For me, that two trees means that we are not alone in the world and only one person next to you can make a big difference.

In my own recreation, I wanted to express the same idea in a different way. “Mundo pequeño” express that the world is too small in the immense universe. It is something difficult to understand because the title "Mundo pequeño" is really different from "the big universe". But this "Mundo pequeño" means that it doesn´t matter if the world is too big for us, we can be happy in our "small world".

The colors express the diversity of people, beliefs, dreams and hopes. The world is enormous. People are just a very small part of the universe.

We can not imagine the size of the universe, the size of the world. We have a big imagination, and maybe we can not see the entire world in a lifetime, but we can imagine everything we want.
The imagination of just one person can reach unimaginable limits; we can create our own world if we want.

It is something really complicated to explain what I want to express with this painting, but I can tell you something:

Look, feel, imagine…

Observe, create, express…

Listen, love, dare…

The universe is too big, the world is beautiful, but our mind is magnificent.

Everything is possible, you are able to do “whatever you want”!

Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo.

La Pieta by Michelangelo: Renaissance art

La Pieta by Michelangelo: Renaissance art

Michelangelo (Miguel Ángel: Spanish).
“La Pieta” (La Piedad: Spanish).
Sculpture: Marble.
174 cm x 195 cm.
1499
St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
Galería Michelangelo Buonarroti (Miguel Ángel Buonarroti) website. October 4, 2009. http://www.historiadelartemgm.com.ar/galeriamichelangelo.htm

Introduction:

“Art” is a word really hard to explain. All of us have seen a lot of pieces of art, but do we really know the meaning of art?

What do you feel when you see all the stars in the sky? I feel like I am flying. For me, art is something that makes me feel something different, something deep that I can not explain.

Here I am going to share with you a piece of art that made me a lot of deep emotions. I am going to show you beautiful pictures of that piece of art, and I am going to make some comments.

Here you are going to be able to appreciate art because I am sure that you are going to feel something when you see this piece of art.

Something very important is that I am going to say what does it make me feel, what did I think and feel when I saw it the first time, and why do I really like it.

At the end I am going to make a creative work of art recreating the original one with my own hands (I hope you like it), and I will tell you why did I do that representation. This is going to be something really interesting.

I am sure that we are going to have a very nice and pleasant time looking and analyzing beautiful artworks that I like….here we go…have fun and enjoy this…you will like it…

Analysis

Variables for sculpture analysis: Sunday October 4, 2009.
Classification
Name of the work: “La Pietá” (La Piedad: Spanish).
Name of the author: Michelangelo (Miguel Ángel: Spanish).
Period: 1499.
Place where the work is at: St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
Technique: Chiseled, carved.
“In the tape across the chest of the Virgin María, Michelangelo chiseled: Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made it”. (Galería Michelangelo Buonarroti (Miguel Ángel Buonarroti) website. October 4, 2009. http://www.historiadelartemgm.com.ar/galeriamichelangelo.htm)


Analysis:

Material: Marble.
Movement: Smooth.
This sculpture is not rigid or forced. It seems to be delicate and soft, smooth.
Type: Sculpture in the round.
You can see all around it. It is separated of the wall, but it is located really close to the wall.
Posture: Seated (Virgin María) and Lying down (Christ on Virgin María’s lap).
Body part: Whole body.
You can see the whole body of the Virgin María and Christ…it is wonderful.
Relationship with the architecture: It is separated from the building (the wall of the Basilica).
Theme: Religious.
The theme is religious because we can see the scene between the Virgin María and Christ. Christ is lying down on his mother´s lap. She is looking at him really peacefully, and she is holding him.
Principles: This sculpture has a very good proportion between the elements that it is representing: the Virgin María and Christ. They have an excellent movement; you can see that Christ is lying down with no strength, and the Virgin María is holding him with her hands.

Specific Characteristics of the work

Something really special and unique about this work of art is the real representation of a mother and a son together in a painful moment, in this case: the Virgin María and Christ, her son. Christ is lying on her lap; he seems to be desperate, hopeless; but his mother is holding him with her hands, and she is looking at him in a really peaceful way.
Something that makes this sculpture so unique is the extremely detailed elaboration. We can see very clearly the expression on their face. We can see all the wrinkles of the clothes. Everything is very detailed: the hands, the fingers, the hair…

Relevant events of the context

The Renaissance was a period where the atmosphere was full of freedom and individualism. The literal meaning of “Renaissance” is “rebirth”. This new ideological period started in Italy, where there was a rich society. This individualism and freedom were caused because of the new artistic representations. The artist started to create new works; they left behind the medieval era and started to discover new ways of expressions, they started to work tridimensional shapes and reality. The humanism started to grow up in this period, the human was the center of attention. (Damico Ryan. The Renaissance period. October 4, 2009. http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/history/history-ren.htm)


The artistic ideologies were based on individualism and freedom, individual expression and worldly experience were the most popular themes in artistic expressions.
The religious ideologies were based in the crucifixion of Christ, but initially, the artist wanted to move away from religion and concentrate in humanism (the human was the center of attention), but in high Renaissance religion was considered in artistic representation (La Pietá).
(Dawn Toner, Peter Toner. Toffs World Website: Renaissance art. 1999-2009. October 4, 2009. http://www.toffsworld.com/art_artists_painters/renaissance_art_movement.htm)


In this period, the humanism created a motivation and curiosity about the world. The people started to ask questions about the world, and they started to observe everything around them. All this curiosity led to the scientific and technological development.
Some scientific and technological advantages were:
- Heliocentric theory by Nicolas Copernicus.
- Galileo Galilei invented the telescope.
- Some inventions like: the printing machine, the compass, the early firearms, etc.
All this advantages made an impact because the inventions changed the world. A very god example is the printing machine: the people started to publish literary works, like novels; and this literary advantage was part of the renaissance artistic movement. (Electro History.2008. October 4, 2009. http://electrohistory3.blogspot.com/)

Reflection: Relationship between the context and the work


This sculpture is reflecting the atmosphere of the period because the artist Michelangelo made a representation with tridimensional form and realism. We can see the presence of the humanism (the most representative characteristic of Renaissance); the Virgin María and Christ represent humans like all of us.


This work of art reflects very clearly the predominant ideologies of the period. We can see this is an individual expression made by Michelangelo, and the religious ideologies are present in this sculpture. We can see a scene after Christ´s crucifixion. Christ is lying on his mother´s lap, and she is holding him with her hands; she is looking at him in a really pacific way in a painful moment.

We can see the impact of the scientific and technological advances not in the type of creation; we can see it in the interest of making this work of art in a really detailed way. It is confusing to explain this, but I think that the curiosity and motivation for science and technology is reflected, in this case, in the work of art.
Michelangelo was very interested in making something glorious, and his motivation and determination are reflected in this beautiful sculpture. It is something similar to the science and technology: the curiosity and motivation led the people to create new inventions.

Personal Reflection


The aspects of Renaissance that I identify with myself are: humanism and the religious ideologies. I think that “the human” is a perfect creation of the nature; I think something similar to the “humanism” of the Renaissance: the human is the center of everything, we are humans, we can do all the things we want, we are able to change the world, we can make mistakes…For me, a human is the most mysterious creation. I identify with myself the religion ideologies because I believe in the crucifixion of Christ, and I have a lot of faith. I really appreciate all the things related with religion. Besides all this things…I think that I am related to the art because I love making my own works of art.

Geographic location of the place of origin of the work

The sculpture “La pieta” by Michelangelo was created in Rome, Italy.
Travel Smart group. Rome maps - World Guide to Rome website.2000-2009. October 4, 2009. http://www.rome.world-guides.com/rome_maps.html

Now, the sculpture “La pieta” by Michelangelo is located in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City.
Euratlas shop. The Countries of Europe - Vatican City: Website. 2009. October 4, 2009. http://www.euratlas.com/Atlasphys/countries_europe/vatican_city.html

Opinion:

This is the section that I really enjoy because I am going to share with you what I feel when I see this piece of art.

Definitely, this sculpture is the greatest piece of art that I have seen. Maybe you are thinking that I am exaggerating, but it is true. The color, the pose, and the scene of the Virgin María with Christ on her lap…everything made me feel that we are not alone in the difficult situations of our lives.

When I saw the Virgin María´s face, I felt safe, I felt in peace. She seems to be looking at Christ with the love of a mother.

When I saw Christ lying down on his mother´s lap, I felt nostalgic; I felt pain in my heart. He seems to be desperate; he seems weak, with no strength to continue.

But finally…I understood the meaning of this scene, the meaning of this sculpture:
The Virgin María is holding is son with the strength of her arms, she is looking at his son to give him love and strength to continue. He feels alone, defenseless. But his mother is there to show him that he is not alone.

For me, this sculpture has a very personal meaning and interpretation…If I feel hopeless, I know that someone is going to be there to help me and give me the support I need: “My mom”. She has showed me that she is always going to be there if I need her…and I really appreciate that. When I saw this sculpture the first time, I remembered my mom, her face, her smile…

- Now, I want to share with you this images I found of “La Pieta” by Michelangelo. I found them in: Final sense. La divina madre.2009. October 4, 2009. http://lamadredivina.blogspot.com/2009/09/la-pieta-de-miguel-angel.html

Look at her face. She seems to be so peaceful.

Look at the wonderful details

You can appreciate the expression on their faces. What do you feel?

My own recreation of the original work of art:

Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo.
“Faith”.
Pieces of paper (in different colors).
33cm x 50 cm.
2009.
Villa de Álvarez, Colima.

I decided to make the image of “La Virgen de Guadalupe” in my own style, in my own way. I used a lot of small pieces of paper (in different colors), glue, scissors and a pencil. When I finished, I noticed that we do not have to spend a lot of money to create a beautiful work of art (I did not spend more than 20 pesos).

My own representation of “La Virgen de Guadalupe” means: faith, love, hope and peace. The beautiful colors on her clothes: green, red and white represent the Mexican faith. Her peaceful face makes me feel relaxed and safe.

Maybe you are thinking: Why did she make an image of “La Virgen the Guadalupe”? –Well I have a little story that I want to share with you:

- One day, about two years ago, I was in one of the most difficult moments of my life. My mom got really sick and she had to stay at the hospital for some weeks, she was in a really bad moment.

I was sleeping at my grand mom’s house with my two brothers. My dad didn´t sleep there, he slept every night at the hospital, next to my mom.

In that moment I was really afraid, I was desperate, I just wanted to shout and cry. I had to seem to be fine because my two younger brothers were afraid too. I had to be brave and strong.
The days passed, and my mom was still at the hospital. I got sick, and my grand mom was alone taking care of us.

One day, my grand mom, my brothers and I were in the dining room. We were eating, like every day, but I was about to exploit. Suddenly, I turned to the right, and I saw an image of “La Virgen de Guadalupe” that my grand mom has in the living room in her house.

In that moment…I felt in peace, I forgot all my problems. I saw her peaceful face looking at me. She was smiling, and I felt that I was not alone.
In a really strange way I felt that she told me that everything was going to be fine.

Some days later my mom started to get better, and soon she came back to the house with us. I was really happy, and I just wanted to hug my mom and hold her close to me.

I will say “Thanks” to “La Virgen de Guadalupe” for the rest of my life…you can think whatever you want, you can believe me or not…but I am sure about something: I know that I am not alone.

This is something very important for me. I felt very good while I was making this image. I am going to keep it in my room, and I am going to look her peaceful face every day…

Now I really know that…in all the difficult moments we are can find something that is going to make us feel better.

Remember this: “We could be in the worst moment of our lives, but with just one smile…everything seems to be better”.

“We are not alone in the world; we are always going to find someone that is going to be with us. That person is going to open his heart and his eyes, and that person is going to stay next to you in the good and bad moments of your life”. Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo.

I learned to appreciate all the things that I have.

I want to give you an advice:

Today…give a hug, smile, say “I love you”…because we do not know what could happen. Appreciate all the things you have, enjoy every day…

“We just have one life…enjoy every moment!!!!

You´d better never let go the opportunities you have to be happy. These opportunities come once in a life time…

Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo.

Bibliography:

Michelangelo Buonarroti (Miguel Ángel Buonarroti) website. October 4, 2009. http://www.historiadelartemgm.com.ar/galeriamichelangelo.htm
Damico Ryan. The Renaissance period. October 4, 2009. http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/history/history-ren.htm
Dawn Toner, Peter Toner. Toffs World Website: Renaissance art. 1999-2009. October 4, 2009. http://www.toffsworld.com/art_artists_painters/renaissance_art_movement.htm
Electro History.2008. October 4, 2009. http://electrohistory3.blogspot.com/
Travel Smart group. Rome maps - World Guide to Rome website.2000-2009. October 4, 2009. http://www.rome.world-guides.com/rome_maps.html
Euratlas shop. The Countries of Europe - Vatican City: Website. 2009. October 4, 2009. http://www.euratlas.com/Atlasphys/countries_europe/vatican_city.html
La divina madre.2009. October 4, 2009. http://lamadredivina.blogspot.com/2009/09/la-pieta-de-miguel-angel.html

"Sisters and book" by Iman Maleki

Iman Maleki consulted on Sunday August 30th 2009. Available at: http://imanmaleki.com/en/Galery/

Iman Maleki
“Sisters and book”
Oil on canvas
80 × 60 Cm
1997

Introduction:
¿Do you really know the meaning of “art”? ¿Do you think that something makes you feel inspired? Well, here I am going to share with you my history through art. I am going to show you an artwork that I really like and I am going to make an analysis about it.
Here you are going to know what makes me feel inspired. I am going to describe the artwork, fill in the blanks in it (concretization), find the aesthetics values, and other things that you will see.

A very important point is that I am going to say what does it make me feel, what did I think and feel when I saw it the first time, and why do I really like it.
Finally I am going to make a creative work of art recreating the original one with my own hands (I hope you like it), and I will tell you why did I do that representation.
I am sure that we are going to have a very nice and pleasant time looking and analyzing beautiful artworks that I like….here we go…have fun and enjoy this…

Why do I like that particular artist that much?
I really like the job of this artist because he makes realistic paintings. They are so real that you can think that they are photographs. When I saw a blog with some paintings of Maleki, he really impressed me.

For me, painting is a very good way to express your feelings, and I think that Maleki do it in a really deep way because his paintings are just like pictures. I can feel it like when you take a picture of a specific moment and you keep it forever. I love painting, and I have made some artworks, and I would like to paint like Maleki some day.

General Information:
This artwork was made by Iman Maleki. He was born in Tehran; he was fascinated by the art of painting since he was a child. The most important exhibition he has participated in is: The Exhibition of Realist painters of Iran at Tehran Contemporary Museum of Art (1999). For these characteristics I think his paintings are like digital photographs. His realistic paintings made him famous around the world. This painting called “Sisters and book” was made in 1997, and it was located in exhibition I mentioned before. It is made with oil on canvas; its dimensions are 80 x 60 cm. Besides this painting, Maleki made a lot of realistic pieces before and after he made this one.

Brief description:
This section is not an analysis of the work yet, it is just a description of the artwork. This painting called “Sisters and book” represents two young girls reading a book. One of the girls is sitting on a chair taking the book with her hands. The other girl seems to be younger; she is stand up behind the chair looking at the book. They are in a room. In that room there is a painting on the wall, but it doesn´t appear complete, you can see just a small part of the painting. The girl with the book is wearing a sweater. The other girl is wearing a nice dress. Their eyes are just looking at the book. They are alone in that room.

Form:
If we see the characteristics of the physical object, we refer to the physical properties of the painting, like the material that Maleki used to make it, in this case is oil and canvas.
In this painting we can see a lot of art elements, describing the technique that Maleki used when he made this painting. The aesthetic object has aesthetic values, searching for aesthetic experience.

“Sisters and book”, talking about the girls, they were made with curved lines. The book and the painting on the wall were made with straight and angular lines (horizontal, vertical and diagonal). Talking about al the painting, Maleki used thin lines.
We can see that Maleki didn´t repeat shapes a lot of times. He created the forms of the girls with curved basic shapes, and the book and the painting of the wall with angular shapes.
There are some aesthetic values that we can find in this painting. We can see a lot of shadows and contrasting colors. The girls are emphasized. The light in this painting is on the girls. The values are strong, and the colors are deep. All the colors that we can see in this painting are warm (brown, red, wine color, straw color, etc.)

The texture is so real in this painting that we could say that it is a photograph. The sweater of the girl with the book and the hair of both girls seem to be real. The texture is perfect for me. Their feces, their eyes and their skin have a real texture when we see it.
The space is in a very good proportion, and the perspective is excellent because you can see the entire scene very well. For me this painting has a good balance because the principal scene in the center of the painting, and there are some complements that complete (complement) the hole scene. The scale and proportion is perfect because all the figures relate to each other.
Finally, I can tell you that the technique of Maleki is really deep because this painting is realistic. I am sure that you can feel the strength of the colors and shadows, and the most important thing: I am sure that you can feel something inside you when you see this artwork.

Concretion:
According to Ingarden, “concretion” is when a viewer fills in the blanks of an artwork. The viewer uses his imagination and his feelings to fill the places of indeterminacy.
When I saw this painting the first time, I thought it was a photograph. When I noticed it was a painting, I was “really” impressed of Maleki´s job.
In my personal opinion, “painting” is a beautiful way to express and represent feelings (I love painting). For me, “Sisters and book” is real art because it made me feel a los of emotions and deep feelings. My personal definition of art is: Art is a representation of emotions and feelings made by humans. It makes you feel deep emotions and feelings in your soul and your heart.
I love this painting. It is very interesting for me. I am talking about all the characteristics I could see in this painting: the colors, the shapes, the aesthetic values, the physic object, the shadows, the perception, the lines, the texture, the contrast, and the most important thing for me: the realistic representation of two girls reading a book in a room.

This painting made me feel in peace, relaxed and happy. It was like I would be flying or dreaming. I could feel their feelings when I looked their faces, I could feel they are relaxed, with no problem.
I think the two girls are dreaming awake while they are reading the book. I can see on their faces an expression on happiness. I think they are using their imagination. The girls are feeling they are flying. They are “living” the story they are reading.
When I read a book, I imagine that I am living that story. I feel that I am in a magic world where nothing wrong can happen. I feel that I am doing all the things I like and all the things that I dream with.
I fell in love with this painting because I felt it was a representation of me when I dream. The scene of the two girls alone in a dark room with a poor light and a wonderful book, made me feel a different emotion that I had never felt before in my life. It is hard to explain. I felt like in a deep dream, like if I wouldn´t like to wake up never again.

Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo.

"Dreaming"

Pencil and colors on paper.

24 x 33.5 cm

September, 2009.

My own recreation of the original work of art:
I made a drawing to recreate the original work of art. It was made with pencil and colors on paper.
I drew a boy. He is stand up alone. He is not wearing a t-shirt. He is wearing red motocross pants and gray boots. He is using a red band around his head, and he is using a necklace with a shark teeth. There are some things around him. There is a surfboard, a skateboard (scooter) and a helmet. This boy is looking to his left side. He has brown hair and clear eyes (it is kind of difficult to see).
For me, this drawing represents the original work of art in my own way. The boy in this drawing is dreaming awake with the things that he loves. He is thinking about his life, about all the things he loves to do: riding a motorcycle, practicing surfing and skateboarding. He is living his deepest dreams. His face and his head “looking to his left side” show that he is dreaming and thinking.
I draw this painting because I like dreaming with the things I love. This painting has a really personal interpretation because when I entered to this school, I had to stop doing a lot of things I love. Now, the time, home works, exams, projects and other activities at school, I can not do all the things I want.
The only things I can do are “dream” with and think every day: “I would love to do….I would like to learn…I want to go…”
The only differences between the boy I draw and me are: first he is a boy and I am a girl, and the second difference is that he is “living his dreams”, and I am just “dreaming and thinking” about them.

I am going to give an advice to all the people that are reading this blog:
“Make your dreams come true. Don´t live just dreaming. If you waste your time, you are not going to be able to return the time you lost.
Please…be happy!

Smile!
Dream…and make your dreams come true!Enjoy every day!

Gema Paulina Fernández Castillo...

Bibliography:
Iman Maleki consulted on Sunday August 30th 2009. Available at: http://imanmaleki.com/en/Galery/