Chris - Van Gogh Write Up

1. The piece I appreciated most was probably Undergrowth with Two Figures. I felt like I was standing in the woods looking at these two people and I really love the style of this. I feel that it still looks like a van Gogh but isn't the same, stereotypical work he is known by.

2. I think he used lines very effectively, especially when it comes to his nature pieces. Even though he doesn't, it feels like every single blade of grass or bark on tree is there. Also, in Starry Night for example, his lines create drama and movement, which is so captivating. 


3. I do feel that van Gogh had a concentration. I felt that his concentration was nature and/or landscapes.

4. When I first saw his work (Starry Night, in particularly) at MoMA back in March, I was blown away and it was so surreal seeing such a famous painting in person. Seeing every ridge and bump and stroke of his brush definitely helped me appreciate him and his work. The same goes for this trip, especially with SO many of his pieces. Some felt a little repetitive or monotonous, but as a whole I definitely appreciate him in a whole new way. I didn't even know he painted that many pieces!

5. Not really, I mean, just looking at his pieces in the exhibit made me completely forget about his psychological issues because his pieces were so peaceful and beautiful. That is what I find so genius about van Gogh...he was crazy, but that didn't come across in his work, for one would think he is quite the opposite.

JOSH- Van Gogh

 

1)      The piece that I most appreciated during the show was the fruit still life consisting of pears, grapes and other fruits on a blue swirling table cloth.  This piece by Van Gogh was extremely different for the artist since it was out of his comfort zone and was staged by the artist himself.  Van Gogh typically never staged his pieces; he rather painted from everyday life.

2)      Van Gogh was a revolutionary in the way he handled the elements and principles of art, because he created his own type of pallet as well as his own style of brush strokes.  Van Gogh would typically blend similar colors together to create pieces that would depict an object but at the same time be made up of generally different shades of the same color. 

3)      I do not think that he had one solid concentration, since much of his work was very different.  Although many of Van Gogh’s paintings were of landscapes, he also painted many other objects such as character studies of people, insects, and fruit.

4)      Seeing Van Gogh’s work in person for the first time, gave me both a better appreciation of the artist as well as a feeling that the artist’s style of painting is actually not as difficult as it may appear in pictures.  Van Gogh’s works are considered to be exceptional works of art, but once I saw his style of painting in person, I realized that his layering and “small stroke” technique actually seems to be quite simpler than I previously had thought.

5)      Knowing that Van Gogh had gone through many emotional and mental struggles throughout his life while he was creating his work, made me wonder how the artist was able to express such joy and reality in his pieces.  While creating his works of art, Van Gogh wad quite disturbed yet he was able to leave that behind and paint what the world had to offer to him.

Katie Schneider Van Gogh

One of my favorite peices by Van Gogh that I appreciated in the show was this painting, called "Wheat Field." It was interesting to see the different variations of wheat in his paintings, and how he began to improve on the stylization of the wheat fields. Van Gogh has his own style that makes him a revolutionary in the way he handles the principles of art. His unique style of texture and color makes the piece realistic, and seem 3-D. All of his artwork draws the viewer's attention, and makes you stop and watch the scene come to life. I think that Van Gogh's concentration would be nature, he was constantly choosing subjects that would appear in the nature, such as trees, flowers, wheat, insects. I definately think that seeing his work first hand enhanced my appreciation of Van Gogh as an artist. It was inspiring to see so many paintings that I've never seen before and how they relate to one another. The variety of paintings he had in this show were phenomenal and I'm so happy I was able to see them up-close and in person. The headphone tour taught me a lot about his psychological struggles that he endured and it added to the emotion of each peice. I think that knowing the struggles and how he dealt with them through art helped me see how artists truly paint their emotions to help express themselves. 

1. I liked “almond blossom” the best in the show. It was slightly unlike his usual style I thought because it wasn’t as streaky and lumpy. I just thought it was really pretty and elegant and I liked the simple blue background on it.

2. I think van Gogh was the first artist to really use paint as a huge texture. His paintings all are rather streaky and unblended because he uses raised paint as a texture. I think his brush strokes are stronger than most painters. He doesn’t blend his paint and his brush strokes always show through in the paintings.

3. I think you could consider nature van Gogh’s concentration. All his paintings are of fields and flowers or fruit, which is from nature. All the pieces seem cohesive together and that to me makes it seem like a concentration.

4. No I feel like it made me like him less. Up close some of the paintings seem really unfinished because they’re so streaky and unblended. I actually like pictures of his paintings more than when I saw some of them in person.

5. Know van Gogh’s emotion struggles don’t change my views at all because his paints don’t seem dark. You would think because of his mental state his paintings would be twisted and dark, but they are still bright and full of life.

Van Gogh - Taylor

1. What piece did you appreciate most in the show, and why? 
**Better in person**  I liked this piece because when you get up close you can see how much Van Gogh paid attention to details. Also, the petals are somewhat 3D, which is very tough to accomplish with paint. The painting has the perfect balance of control and expressiveness.
2. What do you think makes van Gogh a revolutionary in the way he handled the elements/principles of art? Pick one or two elements or principles, and be specific.
Van Gogh incorporated colors into his paintings that most people would never think to put into them. This piece doesn't show it us much as others, but he did things such as putting blue and pink strokes in trees, which is something unexpected and innovative. Also, his brush strokes are extremely expressive and dramatic, which is hard to make look complete. 

3. Do you think van Gogh had a 'concentration'? If yes, what would you say it was? If not, explain.
I don't know if Van Gogh necessarily had a concentration; however, all of his pieces are cohesive in style. The majority of his paintings include flowers or fruits, or some type of natural elements, but there was no obvious thematic connection.

4. Did your experience of seeing his work first hand enhance or broaden your appreciation of him as an artist? 
I think his work is very good, but after a while the pieces all started to blend together and look similar. I think his style of art is the type that must be taken in in small doses in order to appreciate it. I acknowledge that his art is very good, but it isn't my favorite style of art.

5. Does knowing the psychological/emotional struggles van Gogh endured impact your perception of his work in any way? Explain.
I am amazed that he could create such bright and colorful pieces when he was in such a dark period of his life. I looked at the pieces in greater detail once I heard what was going on in his life at the time in order to see if I could find some type of clues in his works of art.

Haley; van Gough

1. The piece I appreciated the most was called Field with Flowers near Aries. I was amazed by they way he used different brushstrokes to create a sense of space. In particular, I love the flowers towards the front of the painting because they are very detailed. He uses different techniques (detailed vs vague) very successfully in this piece!

2. I think his unique style makes him a revolutionary. Specifically I think his use of color and the ability to create texture makes him very successful. He uses so many colors and so many brush strokes to make up an object or landscape in his piece, yet it seems realistic. I love his impressionist-like style and how he can make something as a field so beautiful. I also appreciate his ability to create texture with his many brush strokes. I think this element makes his pieces more realistic that the viewer can feel like they are there.

3. I'm not sure if he had a concentration, but all of his work looks very cohesive. You can tell instantly by looking at a pairing if it was by van Gough. I learned that he was inspired by Japanese prints and it also appears that he like painting nature and landscapes so this could be his concentration. I think that although he did not necessarily paint the same subjects, his unique style makes his work seem as it was a concentration.

4. Seeing his work upclose was a very special experience because I really enjoy his pieces and love his style. I appreciate his work more now seeing how amazing it looked in person rather than in a photo.

5. I think that knowing more about his psychological struggles makes me look further into his pieces. I think that although he was having a very hard time personally, it doesn't carry over into his work as much as you would think. Most of the pieces portrayed happiness and had bright colors. If I know about his personal struggles earlier I would think that his pieces would all be dark and somber. It is very interesting that even when he was in the worst conditions, his artwork was not drastically different.

1. What piece did you appreciate most in the show, and why? 

This piece I appreciated the most was called "Road Menders at Saint Remy" because It has alot of personality. The angle the painting is viewing the road and the trees, and the delightful but attention grabbing lines of the trees capture your focus around the personality displayed in this piece.
2. What do you think makes van Gogh a revolutionary in the way he handled the elements/principles of art? Pick one or two elements or principles, and be specific.
I think Van Gogh's use of lines makes him revolutionary. His brush strokes are carefully planned out. Up close you know not even be able to tell what your looking at but from far away the different strokes and colors add up to a perfect scene. The use of lines in this painting is very effective in drawing your focus to the right point of the painting. Also, Van Gogh's use of color makes him revolutionary. Once again, up close for instance you can see that he used a combination of so many small unblended colors that you wouldn't expect to go together, but they all add up to the perfect depiction of the scene he painted. He had tremendous skill doing this. 3. Do you think van Gogh had a 'concentration'? If yes, what would you say it was? If not, explain.
I think Van Gogh did have a concentration. I would say it is scenery, since most of his paintings involve landscapes and outdoor scenes, or still lives and rooms. 4. Did your experience of seeing his work first hand enhance or broaden your appreciation of him as an artist? 
Yes, because his artwork is a completely different experience in person. It made me realize the difference between a print and a real painting. The richness of the color and three dimensional look of each brush stroke can only come to life in person that same way.5. Does knowing the psychological/emotional struggles van Gogh endured impact your perception of his work in any way? Explain.
In a way it impacts my perception of his work, because when I see darker or gloomier paintings I associate it with what he must of been feeling, and when I see light happy paintings I associate it with what he wanted to see. Knowing his personal life to an extent adds depth to a scene I would've never otherwise questioned to be simply happy and carefree.

1. The piece that I enjoyed the most in Van Gogh's collection was the painting I believe was called"Rain". The painting was different from his other pieces which are usually bright with vivid color. This piece of work was a darker piece which i enjoy because it relates to my style of work which is dark with allot of blacks and grays. I like the work mostly because its different from the rest of his work. This makes me wonder what caused his style to change for this particular piece. 2. I believe that Van Gogh was most revolutionary in his stray from static art and create pieces out of many lines and marks. His state of mind was different from those of other artists. His lined work seemed somewhat chaotic when looked at close but looked clean from a distance. 3. I believe that Van Gogh did have a concentration. That concentration was natural and had to do with nature. I believe this because all of his pieces of work were of landscapes and fruits and natural elements of the world. Although not all of his work might not show this concentration majority of it does. 4. It did broaden my appreciation for him. Not so much the work he did but the amount of work he completed in the length of his life. I found it most astonishing when I realized that he completed so many pieces in a short period of time. That is why I have more respect for him as an artist. 5. Having his background in mind helped me understand allot of his work. One could tell when he was happier from certain pieces and one could also tell when he was more depressed with pieces such as "Rain" which was again my favorite piece.  

Van Gogh

1. What piece did you appreciate most in the show, and why? Note: You may not be able to find an image online of the one you are referring to in your response, but please post one if you can locate one online. Remember that Firefox works better than Safari for posting images) I really liked the piece i think titled "Haystacks". I thought that this piece was very interesting and the amount of detail in it is incredible. Like many of his pieces, i like how you can see the amount of detail and layers put into each spot on the piece. I like his use of the lavender color to shade and accent the haystacks. It provides a nice contrast since the haystacks are a yellow/orange. 2. What do you think makes van Gogh a revolutionary in the way he handled the elements/principles of art? Pick one or two elements or principles, and be specific. I think his attention to detail is what makes him revolutionary. From a far some pieces just seem simple, but up close you can see the complexity and amount of layers it must of taken to get the piece to look the way it did. Also, i like how he could take a simple scenery and make it interesting. Like they said all throughout the audio tour, looking at the piece you felt as if you were actually there. 3. Do you think van Gogh had a 'concentration'? If yes, what would you say it was? If not, explain. I think that he did. I believe that he concentrated mainly on nature and natural things. He rarely did people of portraits, and if he did it would just be a person walking on a street, it was never the main focus of the piece. 4. Did your experience of seeing his work first hand enhance or broaden your appreciation of him as an artist? I think that it did. Before i only really knew of his most famous pieces and it really brought a whole new respect of his work when i saw all the pieces that have never been seen before. 5. Does knowing the psychological/emotional struggles van Gogh endured impact your perception of his work in any way? Explain. It really impacted the way i saw some of his pieces. Some of his pieces when the audio tour said what stage in his life he was going through, brought on a whole different meaning. Some of his pieces seemed to be darker or more sad. Except, his piece that he painted of his view out out of the asylum, i thought that it would be much darker, instead it still seemed happy and had bright colors.

"van Gogh Up Close" Field Trip: POST DUE Wed. 4/25

1. What piece did you appreciate most in the show, and why?
Note: You may not be able to find an image online of the one you are referring to in your response, but please post one if you can locate one online. Remember that Firefox works better than Safari for posting images)
2. What do you think makes van Gogh a revolutionary in the way he handled the elements/principles of art? Pick one or two elements or principles, and be specific.
3. Do you think van Gogh had a 'concentration'? If yes, what would you say it was? If not, explain.
4. Did your experience of seeing his work first hand enhance or broaden your appreciation of him as an artist?
5. Does knowing the psychological/emotional struggles van Gogh endured impact your perception of his work in any way? Explain.