Philip Guston

I did not realize that we had another week of class, so I thought it would be best to do one more blog entry on an expressionist that I've found intriguing since my assigned trip to the Denver Art Museum.



Philip Guston is notable for his cartoonish sketches of various objects. Born Phillip Goldstein in 1913, he grew up to break away from the Abstract Expressionist movement to help start the Neo-Expressionism. He went to the Los Angeles Manual Arts High School at the same time Jackson Pollock was enrolled.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Guston

http://walkingollie.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/philip_guston_1971_lg.jpg

http://arttattler.com/images/Europe/Austria/Vienna/Albertina/Philip%20Guston/04.gif

http://www.arcadja.com/artmagazine/en/wp-content/gallery/081031-high-conte/02-phillip-guston.jpg

What interests me about Guston is that his work is simple, somewhat confusing and rather comical. Many of his figures seem to be simply imagined, and imagination is an important aspect of any work of art. In terms of imagery, he's no Da Vinci. But he doesn't have to be, because that's not really what art's about. Art is about creation, inspiration, and Guston's ideas serve well to the movement of Expressionism.

Final Post

For this last post I will compare and contrast all of the artists that I have studied in this blog.

Egon Schiele was controversial for his erotic depictions, similar to how Leni Riefenstahl was controversial for the propaganda in some of her films. Many of the artists had some connection to the Nazi regime, even Gottfried Helnwein, who did "Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi)". Some artists, like Riefenstahl, respected the Nazis, while others, like George Grosz, hated them more than anything. Then there were those, like Helnwein, who had the philosophy that while many viewed them as evil, others saw them as heroes. It all depends on perspective.

But what draws all these artists together is how they all fell into the category of expressionism. Otto Dix and George Grosz both drew bizarre caricatures and had similar views on the German war. Gottfried Helnwein also expressed with disturbing images and Daniel Richter showed a similar attitude with his own eerie style. There was Leni Riefenstahl who gave her views and experiences through film and photography. Then there was Egon Schiele who expressed his troubled life and childlike curiosity. Joseph Beuys made many eccentric pieces, primarily sculptures, and Neo Rauch expressed his feelings of the crossing between timelines and dimensions with surreal narratives.

They each had their own specific styles, which set them all as different. Each artist is defined by their work...

http://www.mess.net/galleria/dix/1922beauty.jpg

http://www.puzdro.pl/obrazki/54.jpg

http://ishallchangered.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/egon-schiele-nu-assis-1910.jpg

http://contemporaryartsem.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/daniel-richter-jawohl.jpg

http://scrapbook.citizen-citizen.com/photos/uncategorized/josephbeuys_2.jpg

http://www.helnwein.com/stc/ghpicts/gh1729.jpg

http://www.abcgallery.com/G/grosz/grosz10.JPG

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tiCSnSNbyurfRO8fN2Jaki6BtRlYR5OALMExNfAHzrAIKh1LYK9rUNbjfpLvzb9qca9BkKB68oTxmXnYuGDBqJw8C7SoBGeT5GY0J6aIHPQCi9HTC_fgmXGoIYuxyltD9x95NEGCsw/s400/leni-riefenstahl3.jpg

All in all, they are all brilliant artists each in their own unique ways. Their work sets each other apart as well as unites them as one. Expressionism is an art form that goes deep into the soul, that delves into the human condition, into our very characters. And in the end, it sets a fine definition for the world of art.

Gottfried Helnwein

"Helnwein studied at the University of Visual Art in Vienna (German: Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Wien). He was awarded the Master-class prize (Meisterschulpreis) of the University of Visual Art, Vienna, the Kardinal-König prize and the Theodor-Körner prize.

He has worked as a painter, draftsman, photographer, muralist, sculptor, installation- and performance artist, using a wide variety of techniques and media.

His early work consists mainly of hyper-realistic watercolors, depicting wounded children, as well as performances - often with children - in public spaces. Helnwein is concerned primarily with psychological and sociological anxiety, historical issues and political topics. As a result of this, his work is often considered provocative and controversial.

Viennese-born Helnwein is part of a tradition going back to the 18th century, to which Messerschmidt's grimacing sculptures belong. One sees, too, the common ground of his works with those of Hermann Nitsch and Rudolf Schwarzkogler, two other Viennese, who display their own bodies in the frame of reference of injury, pain, and death. One can also see this fascination for body language goes back to the expressive gesture in the work of Egon Schiele.^"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottfried_Helnwein

Gottfried Helnwein, "Beautiful Victim", watercolor, 1974

Gottfried Helnwein, "Epiphany I (Adoration of the Magi)", mixed media on canvas, 1996

"Sehnsucht", (Rammstein), album cover artwork by Gottfried Helnwein, 1997

"The Golden Age of Grotesque", (Marilyn Manson), photographs by Gottfried Helnwein, 2003

This artist has a very large gallery of different media. Just about all of it has something shocking or disturbing about it. I'll take a better look at him when I'm comparing him with all the other artists I've studied.

Daniel Richter

Daniel Richter
Jawohl und Gomorrah
2001
oil on canvas
225 x 370cm


Daniel Richter
Still
2002
Oil and Ink on Canvas
280 x 380cm


Daniel Richter
Gedion
2002
Oil and Ink on Canvas
306 x 339cm


Daniel Richter
Trevelfast
2004
Oil on canvas
283 x 232cm


Daniel Richter
Those who are here again
2002
Oil and lacquer on Canvas
259 x 393cm

I find this artwork to be quite similar to Otto Dix and other such German artists I have studied so far. Strange, mysterious, but is getting some kind of point across...at least to those who can understand it...

I'll do some more thorough compare and contrast after I write about one more artist...

http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/daniel_richter.htm

Joseph Beuys

Joseph Beuys was born in Krefeld, Germany in 1921. His family was loyal catholic and he grew up pursuing his interests in art and natural science. From 1940 to 1945, he served in the military as a combat pilot and radio operator. He was seriously wounded numerous times throughout these five years. One time, he claimed, he crashed in the Crimea and was rescued by a tribe known as the Tartars. To heal him and keep him warm, they rubbed him with fat and wrapped him in felt. This, he said, inspired him to use fat and felt as materials in his artwork.

He then attended the Düsseldorf Academy of Art and learned how to sculpt. After he graduated in 1952, he took up drawing and made thousands throughout the decade. He added sculpture to his art years later.

http://www.walkerart.org/archive/4/9C43FDAD069C47F36167.htm

Joseph Beuys, Table III Chest, 1953, Schellmann Art Production

Joseph Beuys, Lamp, 1960, Schellmann Art Production

Joseph Beuys, kunst = kapital, 1981, MDZ Art Gallery

Joseph Beuys, Olivestone (Prototype), 1984, Sale Date: Feb 7, 2007

http://www.artnet.com/artist/2430/joseph-beuys.html

Neo Rauch

"Neo Rauch (born 18 April 1960, in Leipzig, East Germany) is a German artist whose paintings mine the intersection of his personal history with the politics of industrial alienation. His work reflects the influence of socialist realism, and owes a debt to Surrealists Giorgio de Chirico and René Magritte, although Rauch hesitates to align himself with surrealism. He studied at the Hochschule für Grafik und Buchkunst in Leipzig, and he lives in Markkleeberg near Leipzig, Germany and works as the principal artist of the New Leipzig School. ^[1]

Rauch's paintings suggest a narrative intent but, as art historian Charlotte Mullins explains, closer scrutiny immediately presents the viewer with enigmas: "Architectural elements peter out; men in uniform from throughout history intimidate men and women from other centuries; great struggles occur but their reason is never apparent; styles change at a whim."^[2]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo_Rauch

Rauch's paintings are well-known for matching real with surreal in a somewhat convincing fashion. Characters interact with other characters that mismatch the supposed time-period or world.

http://www.cmoa.org/international/the_exhibition/artist.asp?rauch

(Titles Not Given)

http://www.lostateminor.com/2007/08/15/neo-rauch-at-the-met/

George Grosz

"George Grosz (July 26, 1893 – July 6, 1959) was a German artist known especially for his savagely caricatural drawings of Berlin life in the 1920s. He was a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objectivity group during the Weimar Republic before he emigrated to the United States in 1933."

Similar to Riefenstahl, his artwork was primarily following the events of the first World War. The difference is that while Riefenstahl may have been loyal to the German troops, Grosz despised them. His anti-war movement had him in much trouble throughout his time in Germany, including being arrested in 1919. Soon, he moved to America and became a teacher at the Art Students League of New York.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grosz


Suicide. 1916. Oil on canvas. 100 x 77.6 cm. Tate Gallery, London, UK.

Lovesick. 1916. Oil on canvas. 99.7 x 76.5 cm. Private collection.

Republica Automatons. 1920. Watercolor on paper. 60 x 47.3 cm. The Museum of Modern Arts, New York, NY, USA.

Eclipse of Sun. 1926. Oil on canvas. 210 x 184 cm. Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY, USA.

Self-Portrait, Warning. 1927. Oil on canvas. 98 x 79 cm. Galerie Nierendorf, Berlin, Germany.

http://www.abcgallery.com/G/grosz/grosz.html


So overall, I'm finding few similarities between this man and Leni Riefenstahl, but they both appear to be genius artists. With such bizarre imagery and caricatures, I find George Grosz a bit more similar with Otto Dix.

Riefenstahl Biography

For a while, Riefenstahl studied painting and dancing. She continued to dance and made it far in her career until she was injured in the knee. She carried on as an actress and soon a director, writer and producer. Her movie, "Triumph of the Will", was highly praised until the German World War it was based on came to an end and it was seen by many as sheer propaganda. Her two-part "Olympic Games" movie went through a similar process. Later, she went on with a photographing career to take snapshots of her stay with a tribe called the Nuba. These photos were published to books and magazines. At 71, she took a diving course and then became an underwater photographer as well. That's about as far as I feel required to write, but you can't help but admire a woman who can pull off a life as a dancer, actor, writer, director, producer and photographer and do so well at all of them. Next, I compare her with some other German artists...

http://www.leni-riefenstahl.de/eng/bio.html

Leni Riefenstahl

Leni Riefenstahl was a German director, actress and dancer. She is most notable for the direction of "Triumph des Willens" or "Triumph of the Will". She also directed movies such as "The Blue Light", "Victory of Faith" and "Lowlands". Her acting career included "The Holy Mountain", "The White Hell of Pitz Palu" and "S.O.S. Eisberg". More on her later...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leni_Riefenstahl

Otto Dix

"Otto Dix (1891-1969), the great German Expressionist, was famous for his unique and grotesque style. Although Hitler's Nazi regime destroyed many of Otto Dix's works, the majority of his paintings can still be seen in museums throughout Germany."

Self-portrait as Mars, 1915













The Skat PLayers, 1920











To Beauty, 1922











The Seven Cardinal Sins, 1933














Masks as Ruins, 1946













http://www.mess.net/galleria/dix/


Dix was also well-known for his depictions of war in Germany and its effects on the German society. A share of his works was destroyed by the Nazis, but most still survive.

Trench Warfare, 1932
















http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ARTdix.htm

Egon Schiele

Self Portrait with black Vase
1911, oil on wood, Historiches Museum der Stadt, Wien/Vienna (100 Kb)
(thanks to Harlan Wallach)

Egon Leo Adolf Schiele, 1890-1918, was an Austrian expressionist who was controversial for the erotic depictions in his artwork. In 1907, he met Gustav Klimt, who did similar artwork, and whom Schiele took after for the first few years. But soon, he picked up his own art style that involved jagged lines to express the artwork. Eroticism was a major theme in his pieces, which had him briefly imprisoned for obscenity in 1912.

Schiele drawing nude before mirror
1910, pencil, Graphische Sammlung Albertina, Vienna













http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/schiele/

More Wikipedia

The most commonly used expression in expressionism is angst, but other expressions can be used. The art form is originated from Germany in the early 1900s. Artists in the genre include Otto Dix, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paula Modersohn-Becker, Philip Guston and Willem de Kooning. Categories include New York Figurative Expressionism, Lyrical Abstraction, Bay Area Figurative Movement, Abstract Expressionism and Neo-Expressionism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressionism

Beginning Studies

I guess the best place to start any studies is Wikipedia.

"Its typical trait is to present the world under an utterly subjective perspective, violently distorting it to obtain an emotional effect and vividly transmit personal moods and ideas." So basically it is a work of art that uses its mood to express the situation being depicted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expressionism

Expressionism

I have decided to study expressionism. I will begin my studies and write about it in my next post.