Monday, May 23, 2011

A Blocky World



When people think of art, they think of paintings, drawings and music. Most people don’t think of games as a creative medium though. Recently, the National Endowment for the Arts announced that it officially considers games to be an appropriate expressive medium for creativity. Most of the time, a programmer wouldn’t be considered a particularly creative person. After all, all they do is write millions of lines of code, weave it together, and make it work. It isn’t like a single misplaced letter, number, or punctuation mark can make the entire project break. In case you didn’t catch the sarcasm, that’s how it is. Just as an artist gracefully combines brush strokes to create a painting, the programmer combines lines of code to create his or her artistic work.

Enter Markus Alexej “Notch” Persson, a game developer hailing from Sweden. Markus, a member of the Swedish chapter of Mensa, began programming at the age of seven, working on his father’s Commodore 128. Ever since then, person has been programming, working as a developer for numerous companies. In early 2009, Persson began coding the basic parts of what would grow to be Minecraft, a game that has exploded in popularity and has sold over 2 million copies. Shortly after development of then-named “Cave Game,” Persson played a game called Infiniminer, which would shape the direction that Minecraft took - a world composed entirely of blocks that could be placed and removed at the player’s will.

Describing this game as a surreal experience is an understatement. You spawn alone in the world – you’ll trek through deserts, hike through mountains, spelunk through caves, and wind your way through dense forests. The beauty of the game lies in how Persson coded it – to be procedurally generated. Every time you start a new world, you’ll be greeted with brand new scenery. As you explore, the game generates new terrain, all unique to the world you’re in. This goes on to be something that can be up to eight times the size of the earth. Minecraft is truly a work of art.

Ladder for Booker T. Washington


“Ladder of Life”
Painted in 1996, Martin Puryear put much meaning behind his work in the, “Ladder for Booker T. Washington.” Martin Puryear’s work titles can be best described as metaphors that expand rather than limit the meaning of his work as stated from, “picturing America.” Born in 1941 in Washington D.C., Martin Puryear grew up struggling to battle with racial equality because of his African American background. Puryear’s work is often very sophisticated and is involved with visual, sculptural ideas, such as oppositions of natural and geometric, stability and mobility and positive and negative space. Often compared to a minimalist, Puryear also held many more important skills such as simple organic shapes which also possess a human, handmade quality. In his 20’s, Martin attended an art academy in Scandinavia because of their woodcraft tradition. Later becoming more interested in woodcraft, Puryear returned to the US to study and receive a master’s of fine arts degree at Vale University. This interest in woodcraft has shown Puryear that art is not only made from his hands but also his heart and mind. Drawing in his interest of woodcraft into his artwork, led Puryear to the completion of “Ladder for Booker T. Washington” in 1996. Puryear’s Ladder reflects handcraft techniques he learned abroad while studying in West Africa and Scandinavia. As stated by “picturing America”, Puryear’s sculpture represents that of the life of the man for whom it is named after. The crooked, yellow, suspended ladder in the painting would relate to the life of Booker T. Washington. Born into slavery in 1856 in the Piedmont region of Virginia, Washington grew up in a very rough life, struggling to gain racial equality. The crooked, suspended ladder suggests that Washington had a rough, challenging life and that the only way to overcome this was to walk over all the problems before him. The dark shadows and walls help to give the viewer the idea that Booker T. Washington was trapped, in pain and couldn’t get out. The blue sky and light at the top of the painting give him hope as if this is the way out. Freedom is the essential goal and a new life is awaiting him on the other side of the wall.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Fruit or Something More?

Severin Roesen is an American artist born in Germany. According to Wikimedia, he was born in 1815 and died in 1872. He came to the U.S. in 1848 and moved to Williamsport Pennsylvania in 1860 where he painted Still Life with a Basket of Fruit.

Rosen's art perfectly reflected the young country's optimism and growing wealth. Roesen is considered one of America's grestest still-life painters. His crisply detailed, brilliantly colored compositions represent some of the most complex and elaborate paintings in this genre ever produced.

Roesen used tiny brush strokes to make his art so detailed. He had an eye for detail. It seemed as if the colors in his art weren't always true to the actual object. The colors being off from the actual fruit could represent a rare form of the fruit. Rare can also represent wealth.

The art he did I would think were typically found in a wealthy person's house. Instead, according to Wikipedia, he traded his work with Jacob Flock for lodging and beer. Roesen liked beer. In fact, you would find a faint outline of a beer glass in the corner of his paintings. When a customer objected, he would remove it.

He most often did his still life using fruit. He would restock and rearrange the fruit for new ideas. he would create a garden of fruit. The archetype of a garden is cultivated and carefully planned. I can really see those qualitites in his work. He puts the fruit in those places for a reason. He carefully plans how to place the fruit for the best turnout.

It appears the fruit is very fresh because you can see water droplets on the fruit. To me, that represents wealth because anyone who was not as wealthy would reuse the same fruit for long periods of time. One watermelon is eaten and one is whole. I feel like that is a representation of something larger. Maybe his life is missing something like the eaten watermelon. Maybe he wants to feel whole like the full watermelon. I have mixed feelings on that.

The top of the painting gives off a glittery appearance. To me, that is a huge representation of wealth again. What else sparkles like glitter? Diamonds. Diamonds are more for the wealthy. Could he have been aiming his work towards the wealthy just to earn more money? Or could it be to make him feel wealthy?

For a guy that was normally drunk while doing his art, he really created some masterpieces.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Gerhard Richter's Betty

Gerhard Richter was born in Germany on February 9, 1932. He spent the first thirteen years of his life under National Socialism. Growing up in Nazi Germany, he was haunted by ideology and death. This fear remained with him through his adult life and is apparent in his paintings. He paints images without glory; he instead presents the beauty in the ordinary through his art. According to gerard-richter.com, he believed that art should be separated from art history and focus on the image rather than the reference, the visual rather than the statement.
                Richter has produced a wide variety of art, including photographs, abstract, glass pieces, and photorealistic painted works. He used oil and his photorealistic painting techniques to create “Betty.” This painting was based on a photograph of his, at the time, 11 year old daughter. In his photo-based style, he blurs the paintings, modernizing traditional artwork through technique. The blurred paintings of photographs look almost like reality, but the viewer can never fully focus on the image. Gerhard-richter.com states that it is as if you were trying to remember the features of someone you saw once long ago, but you can only recall the outline.
                “Betty” is a painting of a young girl. The blurred photo and softened features of the subject make this piece of art very delicate and feminine. The dark background, which is one of Richter’s other monochrome paintings, “Gray Mirror”, contrasts with the lighter colors of the girl. She wears a white jacket with red flowers, most likely symbolizing a conflict between purity (white) and seduction (red). It could also symbolize the struggle between good and evil, or even the transition from girl to woman. The sharp features of her flowered jacket contrast with the blurred features of her hair. The girl is turning away, her face not visible. This could be because she is ashamed or possibly just bashful. The lighting casts a light circle around her head, resembling a halo, another symbol for purity. The archetype of the innocent is represented in “Betty.” The subject is a young, naïve girl, full of innocence and wonder. Her inexperience and purity are depicted by her blonde hair and the pink, childish dress she wears. When I first saw this painting, I wanted to know what she was looking at. Who is she answering to? What does her face look like? Human curiosity draws the viewer in to this work of art, which may have been Richter’s purpose.

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere

In the painting The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Grant wood captures the scene where Paul rides his horse through the town. Grant paints the picture like a child with simple geometric shapes and lines. In this painting Grant makes no attempt to be historically correct by the lighting in the windows because it is too bright to be candle lights. Wood also made the moon shadow to bright to be scientifically correct. Wood has also painted the American gothic painting. Wood painted this painting during the world war II to boost American moral. Wood struggled against that tide, committed to his dream of a truly American art that would link the present to the past and preserve all the stories that made up the American heritage. (picturing American)

Kids with Masks, Helen Levitt


Identity Loss
According to Wikipedia.com, Helen Levitt was an American photographer particularly noted for her “street” photography around New York City and has been called “the most celebrated and least known photographer of her time.” In 1959 and 1960, Levitt received two Guggenheim Foundation grants to take color photographs on the streets of New York. She lived in New York for nearly 70 years. Helen Levitt was known to be notoriously private publicity shy.
According to nytimes.com, in 1938, Levitt contracted with Evans and Cartier-Bresson, both members of the Film and Photo League. Evans had a way of being sparingly, frontally direct with his common place subjects and Cartier-Bresson had a gift for catching everyday life in graceful, seemingly transparent flux. These two had a lot of impact in Levitt’s photography technique. Helen Levitt had a way of capturing instances of a cinematic and delightfully guileless form of street choreography that held at its heart, as William Butler Yeats (an Irish poet and playwright) put it, “the ceremony of innocence.” According to npr.com, in an interview, Helen talked of using a device that fit on her Leica camera called a winkelsucher which allowed her to look one way and take the picture the other. It virtually allowed her to turn her camera sideways and capture moments people had no idea were being photographed.
The photograph “Kids with Masks” was taken in the early 1940’s. Needless to say, the photo was taken on the streets of New York City. Levitt captured three small children getting ready to go out for Halloween in their masks, according to bluetramontana.com. However, beyond the real reason the children were dressed like that, I believe Levitt was trying to communicate a less obvious message.
In this photo, there are three young children; believed to be one girl and two boys. The girl stands on the top step wearing a nice dress holding up her mask. One boy is standing with one foot on the top step and one on the bottom step also wearing a mask covering his face and nice pants and a jacket. The other boy is standing on the bottom step, peering off into the street with a nice jacket, pants, and a mask as well. The porch they’re on looks to be made of concrete with an old chipped wooden doorway, and elaborate looking railing. It looks like the porch belongs to either a small home or apartment type building. The door is made of glass panels that reflect the building across the street. At the bottom of the door is a wooden rectangular frame design and also has wood that frames the outside of the glass. The actual building is made of brick, which you can see in the far right. The boy in front seems more relaxed with his legs crossed, while the other two seem unready and have uncrossed legs.
Was Levitt really trying to capture Halloween in New York City or a deeper reflection of society during that time? Could it be possible that this painting symbolizes how people in the 1940s and still today have to put on a certain cover before going out into the real world? Does acceptance have greater importance than one’s inner being and feeling? The masks represent the cover up that many people put on to create a different identity or illusion than what they really are at home. You can see that the little girl, being closer to the doorway between reality and the real world is still trying to get her mask on all the way. Does that bit of struggle to hold up her mask as she enters the outside show that we as humans have the hardest time pretending to be something we’re not when we’re closer and more connected to our inner selves? The farther we are from being in touch with who we really are the easier it is to identify with something you’re not? The little boy on the first step is completely relaxed and comfortable with his new identity and also happens to be farthest from the home. The doorway could represent the passageway from identity to fraud. The wooden frame along the outside is strong and sturdy which could be the image that most people put on in public while inside the frame are fragile glass panels that reflect the outside images which represents our inner being that we try to hide. Do we all try to prevent revealing the truth? Does the world around us influence what we do and reflect into the kind of person we become? Has honesty and openness become a sign of the weak?
The concrete porch represents the sturdiness and stability a person believes they stand on when they stay closed off and lie to the world, instead of showing what’s inside and risking vulnerability. If they didn’t have that barrier to keep up in front of others, they’re concrete porch would come crashing down around them. Do people’s opinions really cause that much satisfactions and self-acceptance?
The archetype “the innocent” can be seen in this photograph. The children in the painting represent this innocent and inexperienced being. They’re like a clean slate without much reflection from society, yet it shows that the youth of our culture is already being influenced by what they see around them. Why did Levitt use children as the main subject of this photograph? Was it to show how these children being very naïve still mock what they see around them? Are we dooming the future generation to a life of fraud and dishonesty.
Levitt was truly a mastermind of her time. Her photographs revealed images of society being caught off guard and most subjects not even knowing Levitt was taking a picture. Her work makes you look at things more closely and question the behavior of society. Levitt didn’t let the little things go unnoticed.


Maureen Loucks
Hour 2
Red Evening Sky
By: Emil Noble
Red Evening Sky was a painting on oil canvas and it was not a specific drawing. The painting was used by expressionist which made his paintings not as clear it was more like brush strokes throughout, however you could still see clearly the three canyons that were in the middle possibly representing his three main struggles. There’s also a pink-ish gold sky which to me represents his hopes and dreams. The blue ocean like floor was the freedom.
In the painting there are three dark brown canyons with mountains in the background. To me it represents the tougher “rocky” times in his life. They are steep and have sharp points on them. One of Noble’s struggles was choosing to leave his family farm that was in his family for 8 generations. Then there’s a canyon behind the first one which might represent him dropping out of college or falling behind. The next canyon is more to the right side of the painting and it shows his struggle to get a job. He felt like he was “slipping away”(Wikipedia.com) which could be why the canyon was to the side. However beneath the canyons was a blue ocean like floor. The floor made me feel like it was his freedom after he had left the farm went to school and did find a job. The floor had brush strokes that made it look like waves were splashing along the canyons almost trying to sweep them away or take them out. The water floor also had some white paint strokes which represents the purity he felt when he did become a artist and his struggles were behind him. Finally the pink/ gold sky which takes up a big proportion of the picture and what made me like it so much and want to choose it. It represents his hopes and dreams. It looks like a beautiful sunset with brush strokes of pink and gold. It seems relaxed and happy. When you look at it, it’s like a paradise at first sight then you look below and realize there is more going on. It shows that below him was his struggles what he has trying to erase them is his freedom, and what he has the most of is hopes and dreams that can overlook any struggle.

Hans Suess von Kulmbach


Justin Montgomery 2nd hr
Hans Suess von Kulmbach


Hans Suess von Kulmbach was born in 1480 in Kulmbach, Franconia (Germany.) He originally worked for Durer who is also an artist during the renaissance. He was doing alter pieces and paintings for Durer when he worked for him. There work always seemed to involve religion in some way, most of their stain glass and alter pieces were made for churches. Durer may have taught Hans Suess von Kulmbach a lot of what he knows but throughout all the learning Hans kept his own style which often displayed vivid color. In 1505, Hans became an apprentice to a painter and printmaker and no longer worked under Durer, but they always remained close. Then when Durer retired in 1510 Hans received most of Durer’s most important commissions one of these included was an alter piece for Maximilian (roman emperor.)
The painting, “Mary Salome and Zebedee with Their Sons James the Greater and John the Evangelist” is done with oil on panel. In this painting it depicts the family of four sitting down in what looks like a family portrait. There is a women (Mary Salome) sitting down in front of the man(Zebedee) who is standing behind her. I think this conveys the idea that the man is dominating the women by her sitting down showing that he has more power of her and during this time period men had a lot more rights than women. Mary in this photo has two kids who are next to her, she has a naked baby on her lap and a toddler with no pants to her side I believe this shows that the kids are dependent on the women and that most of the time back then the women did all the things with the kids while men were working.
In the photo no one is looking towards you they are all looking in different directions. The man’s eyes are to his right, while the woman’s looking to her left. The baby on Mary’s lap is looking at her and the other toddler is looking to his right. I think this is suppose to be showing how when kids(especially boys), when they are really young they lean more towards their mom and are often with them and that’s why the baby is looking up to the mom. Then once they start to get older they start to lean more on their dad and want to be with them and spend more time with them than their mom’s because they want to be just like their dads. That’s why the toddler is looking in the same direction as his dad.

Still Life With Fruit



Severin Roesen was born in Germany and emigrated to the united states in 1848, where was living,working and exhibiting in New York until 1952, when he moved to Pennsylvanis, settling eventually in Williamsport. His style includes a great attetion for bright colors. Roesen trained in the decorative arts tradition as a painter on porcelain. His lavish paintings of still lifes and flowers came from the tradition for the genre in 19th century Amercia as well as large canvases suitable for dining-room decoration. his works reveals his training as a painter of enamels and china with thier lavash drawings and bright colors and smooth surfaces. the portrait unfolds across an oval format, with a variety of fruits that spill over into the viewers space from their perch atop a marble ledge. the two vines of white grapes from opposing diagonals around which the other fruits-apples,plums,cherries,black berries, and a peach are arranged, while a birds nest holding three eggs is nestled in the lower-right hand corner.



The apples in the center are above everything else signifies a hero arctetype . the other friut are down lower and mainly besides the wall and table. there is a basket of eggs which represent the innocent archetype because a eggs represents new life.On the left side of the painting evertything is dark and on the right side it is bright. To me the friut and vines look more alive on the right. Darkness can represent poising and the brightness and symbolize being healthy and alive.

Heinrich campendonk




most of Campendonk's artwork was influenced by Marc, Macke and Kandinsky. A stiff geometrical form language was combined with color in complementary contrasts to a dynamic, rhythmic form language.
In 1916 Heinrich Campendonk moved to Seeshaupt at the Starnberger See, from where he went on extensive travels. At that point Campendonk's painting was marked by softly flowing forms, large calm areas of intensive light and lyrical, often fairytale-like mood. He also produced works in glass painting. In 1926 Campendonk was appointed professor at the Düsseldorf art academy.
After the end of the war, Campendonk did not return to Germany. He continued to work as a teacher and received numerous orders for glass windows in the Netherlands and Germany. In 1956 Campendonk was awarded the Quellinus Prize by the city of Amsterdam and made knight of the order "De Nederlandse Leeuw".

The Plaza After Rain




Paul Cornoyer was best known for his paintings in an impressonist and pointillist style. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and began painting in barbizon style. He attended the St. Louis school of Art and was encouraged by Halsey C. Ives to pursue his studies. He studied under Jules Lefebvre, Benjamin Constant, and Louis Blanc. In 1894 he returned to St. Louis and won the Gold Medal from the Association of Painters and Sculpters. This painting is a perfect example of Cornoyer's skills. There is a woman walking with her children, bare trees that show it may be fall ro winter, the ground is wet indicating that it had just rained, and there is a gold statue in the back. The location of this painting was in New York City's Greenwich Village. This painting captures the mood of the city after a storm. The fading light, cloudy sky, and mist still hanging in the air communicate a stillness and calm. This gives a viewer a sense of the everyday moments of quiet beauty in the life of a city dweller.

Nose 29

Nose 29 is one of 30 drawings based on the Russian Novel and satirical opera, The Nose. Though the novel was written in 1836, Kentridge molded the story to illustrate the Russian Revolution in the time of Stalin (1920’s and 1930’s). The novel, written by Nikolai Gogol, takes you on the journey of bureaucrat Kovalyov, who wakes one morning to find that his nose is no longer a part of his face. In fact, it has gone on a stroll through St. Petersburg. Kovalyov goes hunting for his nose. He runs into it on numerous occasions, but doesn’t capture it successfully. One time he finds it at a cathedral, but the nose refuses to return to its keepers face. Unable to force it to return, Kovalyov realizes that it is because the nose has gained a higher social status, which is why it wont return. The story goes on to incorporate the law and its absurdity, all while following the nose and illustrating the abuse it has on its owner.

William’s prints make a wonderful storyboard to the opera. He illustrates the nose stealing a lover, another shows the nose putting on a tutu, there is also one where the nose consumes the face of Stalin and rides a horse at the same time he ponders the cause and effects that create art, politics and literature.


"Perception of Memory"







The Persistence of Memory is one of Dali’s most famous paintings. Dali was not only an artist, but also a philosopher. With this information you can take in the fact that his philosophy and psychological views had a great influence in his artwork. His many paintings, such as this one, include dreams, birth, perception of reality, death, and sexual desire. Dali referred to many of his paintings as “hand painted dream photographs”, and this painting is just that. The drooping pocket watches are a symbol of distorted time. They resemble time’s irrelevance to the unconscious mind. The “fetus-like” head lying on the ground is often interpreted as many different things, such as a fish washed ashore, or the head of a goose. According to the Authentic Society, many of the landscapes in Dali’s paintings resemble his home town, Port Lligat. In the foreground there are ants attacking an orange clock which could quite possibly resemble Dali’s anxieties associated with time. Was he late for work? Or waiting on his long lost love? What do you think? Hurry time is ticking!

Often Dali would make up ridiculous meanings for his paintings when asked. In Dali’s book Diary of a Genius he claims that this painting is nothing more than an interpretation of melting cheese sitting out for a long period of time. However, after studying this piece of art and researching information about it I personally believe differently. Dali’s psychological background plays a big part in his deeper thoughts about this painting.

Esao Andrews

                Esao Andrews, a young and growing artist from Mesa, Arizona, created this wonderful piece. This work, called Test Cover for Vertigo, was one of his earlier pieces. He used oil paint as his media, which is typical of most of his art. Esao moved from Arizona to New York in 1996 to complete his BFA in illustration at the school of visual arts. He graduated in 2000, quickly landing a major show at Fuse Gallery. His art and name got very popular, fast. I actually know of him because of the work he has done for the band Circa Survive, creating 4 of their album covers.

                In this actual piece, I notice a lot of details and characteristics that contribute to the surreal, dark, and enchanting mood that is created. The basic depiction of this piece is a girl-like creature deep in thought, oblivious to the stalking wolf man behind her. You will notice a theme among Esao’s characters that gives monsters human-like bodies. They are always very thin and lanky, with emphasis on the tone and shape of muscles. Every one of his displayed paintings are oil based.

                The first thing I notice about this image is that the angle of the horizon is tilted. This is actually the only piece by Esao that I have seen that does this. Next, the obvious details appear to me. The characters are secluded in a forest. The girl has huge, feathered wing. Her hair and wings are bright, electric blue. The thin wolf character in the back is covered in hair and has an extremely sharp claw motioning to be quiet to the audience. If you look at the character’s expressions, you notice the girl has a very content, happy look on her face. She seems to be at peace. The wolf’s face is almost evil looking, with an invisible grin. To me, it looks like a huge symbol of good and evil. The evil is stalking the innocent, which is possibly a symbol of defiling innocence. It leaves you with a very dark and disturbed feeling.

                There are some uncertainties I have about this painting. Art can be interpreted many different ways, so I wonder what other people get out of this image. What is the girl thinking about, and why would she be alone in the forest? What are the wolf-man’s motives? What does the whole scene represent, symbolically? What does each character represent? Was there any significance to the tilted horizon? Why are all of Esao’s characters so thin and lanky?

                My personal opinion of this work, along with the rest of Esao’s art, is extremely high. I think his creativity and ability to create is unbelievable. He has the success to show for it too. In one art showing, Esao made over $5,000.00. As an artist, I am very impressed and aspire to be as good as Esao Andrews someday.

John Stueart Currys "The Mississippi"



John Steuart Curry is an artist that is well known for his famous paintings of his home state of Kansas. He enjoyed showing the rest of the world what Kansas baptisms were like, what happened during a twister, what the floods looked like. He was even asked to paint murals in the state capital building of Kansas. Unfortunately, most people did not like his paintings and thought it just showed that Kansas was a state constantly destroyed by horrible and dangerous weather, and his paintings weren’t really appreciated until after his death.
His painting “The Mississippi” is a very detailed and powerful piece of art. The first situation that catches your eye is that there is an African American family clinging to a roof of a house in middle of a flood. The family consists of a mother, father, and four kids. The father is praying up to the sky and the sky around his hands is turning a light yellow. The three older kids are clinging to the house, with no help from their parents, but are still looking at the sky with their father. The mother is lying on the roof, protecting the fourth child, a baby wrapped in a blanket, but she is looking down. There is also a black cat on the roof right behind her. Is the cat a symbol for bad luck? I think so. The mothers half of the roof is falling apart and she seems to have lost all hope and is tired of everything, whle the father is still filled with hope and praying. The differences between the parents reactions and the children being between them makes the kids seem like an “innocent” archetype, since they are young and inexperienced, and don’t know what to do or who to follow.
The trees in the background are supposed to be a symbol of hope and faith that they will find something better to hold on to than a floating roof. The colors in the sky are to symbolize that the dad will most likely be saved over the mom, since the sky is lighter over him.

Missouri Street, St. Louis 2002




A young girl is playing outside. However, she isn't playing with the other children. She is sitting on a trampoline all by herself, while the boys are wrestling in the background. Past the boys wrestling is one little boy climbing over the fence. There is some type of mystery to this photograph. Did the girl choose to be alone? Was she shunned by the other boys? (slam.org)

Anna Kuperberg doesn't just want viewers seeing people in her photography. She wants them to feel the emotions coming from the picture (anna@kuperberg.com). Knowing that she captures the emotions, I can feel that the little girl was shunned by the other boys. The day is nice and sunny but yet the girl is sitting there by herself, while the boys are having fun together. The picture is in black and white suggesting that the girl is sad and depressed because the boys won't play with her. There are many things to do, like ride a bike or go play with the other boys that's climbing the fence. Instead of doing those things the girl sits there, lonely. Since she does not do other things it can be implied that she really wants to be part of the guys.

There are many archetypes in this photo. The main one is the abandoned child. You see that in the picture the girl is all by herself. Almost like she was abandoned by the other children. You may notice that there isn't any adults watching the kdis play. This can suggest that they all have been abandoned by their parents but the girl is the only one to notice and feel the pain of being abandoned. The third boy who is climbing over the fence reminds me of the trickster/clown archetype. This archetype likes to disobey rules and plays tricks (Wikipedia). The boy is disobeying the rules by climbing over the fence and leaving the yard. He could be playing a trick on the other children by disappearing on them.

Anna Kuperberg is good at capturing emotions and actions in her photography. She made me see more than kids playing outside. I felt what the little girl and boys were feeling. To me, Anna accomplished waht she wanted in this photograph.

John LaFarge


John LaFarge was an American born in New York City, New York. He went into college studying law, but after a trip to Paris, became interested in art. LaFarge was greatly influenced by Japanese art. In the early 1860's he became a pioneer in collecting Japanese art, and incorporating Japanese effects into his work. This interest was likely encouraged by his marriage to the niece of the commodore who opened Japan to the West . LaFarge used Japanese effects to create strange, empty and unbalanced effects. These are shown in Hollyhocks by the layered glass and cluttered flowers. Other details include opalescent white glass, which could possibly represent purity. An irregular pebble border gives the feeling of being enclosed. The glass is mostly dark green giving a feeling of darkness and unknowing, with spouts of blue to give a sense of hope. The flowers are red, blue, and purple, and get smaller and more detailed toward the bottom. When taking a step back from the glass, it looks like the flowers may be dying. Archetypes include a forest or maybe a swamp. A forest represents fertility, protectivity and shelter. This piece was made for the Frederick Lothrop Ames house, who came into money because his grandfather founded a shovel company.
Questions:
If you had as much money as Lothrop, what would you spend it on?
Is stained glass in your house an unnecessary waste of money?
Do you think Ames appreciated the beauty of the work as much as LaFarge?