Depictions of Ancient Statues from around the world

      The theme of my exhibit is going to depict ancient statues from around the world. I chose this theme because I believe statues are a very beautiful form of art and more people should be able to see and experience there greatness. They offer a three dimensional aspect to art and are large in size.

      The three statues I chose to be displayed at my exhibit are all from around the world. My first statue is from Roman art. It is a "Marble statue of a bearded Hercules" who was mythological hero of superhuman strength. This is significant to me because when I was a kid, Hercules was my one of my favorite characters. This statue is very detailed, and well crafted. The second work of art I chose to be displayed at my exhibit is a statue from Egyptian art called "Recumbent Anubis" because of the horizontal resting position of the statue. Anubis is the god of mummification and protector of tombs in Egyptian mythology. Anubis is also illustrated in many other pieces of Egyptian art. My third and final statue is from Asian Art and is titles "Seated Buddha". In appearance of this statue is of a soft grey color, and is also very happily detailed treasure representing Buddhism. Over all, all three of these statues represent a cultural, world wide identity that the majority of the population recognizes. They also show that they are very old since they all have chipped and damaged spots.

      These works of art, despite there defects are amazing to look at. They show how intelligent and artistic we  can be, and that pretty much anything can be done with the right mind set and proper resources. I am looking forward to finishing my exhibit soon so more can come witness real ancient statues that are from around the world.

             "Bronze Statue of an Aristocratic boy", 27 B.C.-A.D. 14, Greek & Roman Art.

"Marble statue of a youth man", 1st century A.D., Greek and Roman Art.

"Marble statue of a wounded warrior", A.D. 138-181, Greek and Roman Art.

           

                         "Marble statue of an old woman", A.D 14-68, Greek and Roman Art.    

"Marble statue of Hercules", A.D. 68-98, Greek and Roman Art.

                        "Marble Head of a Greek general", 1st-2nd century A.D., Greek and Roman Art.

                   "Bronze statuette of a horse", late 2nd-1st Century B.C., Greek and Roman Art.

                             "Haremhab as a Scribe of the King", ca. 1336-1323 B.C., Egyptian Art.

                   "Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut", ca. 1473-1458 B.C., Egyptian Art.

                               "Statue of an Offering Bearer", ca. 1981-1975 B.C., Egyptian Art.

                                             "Ptah Statue", ca. 1070-712 B.C., Egyptian Art.

                                       "Statue of Seated Imhotep", 332-30 B.C., Egyptian Art.

                                           "Recumbent Anubis", 664-30 B.C., Egyptian Art.

                                                "Seated Buddha", 7th-8th century, Asian Art.

                                             "Bust of figurine", ca. 1000-250 B.C., Asian Art.

Chelsea Galleries Reaction

On November 11, 2011, I decided to visit some art galleries in the Chelsea, New York area. I was looking for art I would like to add to my personal collection. Upon visiting a couple of galleries, one gallery in particular really caught my eye. The Yossi Milo Gallery on 525 West 25th street held some of the most interesting and beautiful art works I have ever seen. These big, large scale printed works of art by Simen Johan all showed animals doing something different in a reality but are then placed into environments that are separately photographed. One shows a bird on a branch with a frog in its mouth ready to eat it, another two deers frozen to a tree because of the brutality of the cold weather, and my favorite one, a rhinoceros just laying down on the sand relaxing. This big work of art of the relaxing rhinoceros is very appealing to me because its a large picture bordered white inside of a simple white frame. The quality of the print for this picture is also the best I have ever seen because it is so clean looking and the colors are just so vibrant and gorgeous. This artwork seems like a good investment to me since I would like to display this in my house along with others from my collection.

However not all the galleries I visited met my preferences of art. The Gagosian Gallery on 555 West 24th street was home to Richard Serra’s Junction/Cycle. This giant sculpture consists of two long steel structures that are made up of tall, continuously connected steel plates that carry different shades of rust on there surface. Here you see marks such as scales, drips, streaks, shadows, calcium deposits, and water stains. Although this sculpture seemed interesting to me at first because there is a walkable curved path in between the two pieces of steal, it became repetitive and boring very quickly. For the massive size and high price point for this art work, it is safe to say that I have no place or liking in purchasing this piece.

Simen Johan
“Untitled #168
2011

Richard Serra

“Junction/ Cycle”

Junction (2011), Cycle (2010)

Illustrate a Story

          I found this particular story interesting because it informed me about the destruction if the U.S.S. Arizona  (Battle Ship) in Pearl Harbor through the eyes and words of a teenager who enlisted in the military the previous year. Frank Curre survived the tragic event of that day while aboard the U.S.S. Tennessee (Battle Ship). He also experienced a great piece of history due to the fact that this event is what got the United States involved in World War II.

Brooklyn Museum Reaction

Field Trip 4: The Brooklyn Museum

 
For our fourth field trip, we visited the Brooklyn Museum. Although this is one of the largest and oldest Museums in the country, it holds inside many different and distinct works of art that will leave you amazed. From all the exhibitions inside this museum, there were three that were of importance to me and the class. These include “Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties”, “Sanford Biggers: Sweet Funk-An Introspective”, and “Timothy Greenfield Sanders: The Latino List”.
From the “Youth and Beauty: Art of the American Twenties” there were many paintings that were as the title states from the twenties and illustrated ideas of life from that time period. These arts included paintings from environmental getaways to a women relaxing nude on a sheet, all the way to commonly used masculine products. The work of art that caught my eye in this exhibit is called, “The Beach” which was completed in 1924. It consists of three paintings (triptych), all of the same size and perfectly lined up next to one another as each picture continues where the other left off. They illustrate a large group of people, both men and women just talking and socializing in a mature and proper way while enjoying the beautiful ocean breeze, sunny day, and overall just relaxing. The men are fully dressed and the women are in stockings and skirted bathing suits and the artist describe this painting as on that suggests the social encounters that were newly possible in America at that time. The idea of identity in this work seems to be cultural since all these people that have gathered at the beach as a mini society and all began to mingle.
From the “Sanford Biggers: Sweet Funk-An Introspective there were many works of art that were as the title states, Funky or weird. The one that stuck out to me is titled “Blossom, and was completed in 2007. This was pretty much a classical wooden piano that was intertwined with the center of a tree and also played music by itself. The purpose of this is that of 1930’s Blues singer, Billie Holiday. The tree and piano represents her popularization of the song, “a protest against lynching” which was usually racially motivated. It is also the center of this exhibition, and shows a sense of cultural identity since this was an all around problem faced by society back in the 1930’s.
From the last exhibition I visited, “Timothy Greenfield Sanders: The Latino List”, there were also a hand full of interesting things here. To start it off, this exhibition was located in a giant white room and had four large cloth columns at its corners. This all seemed like a very pure, and natural way of displaying art as well as culturally oriented through the constant use of the color white which is favored by Hispanic families. On the inside of theses columns however were large photographs of well known, famous people of Latin heritage from the worlds of culture, politics, business, and sports. They were framed in white frames and were in high resolution. Upon walking around these picture, one that caught my eye was that of hip hop rapper Pitbull, also known as Armando Christian Perez who is of Cuban descent. This caught my eye because he is one of my favorite rappers, and I was not expecting to see a picture of him at a museum.
Although I was not at the Brooklyn Museum for too long, I got to see many interesting works of art by going there. I am looking forward to going back there since there is still many exhibitions I have not witnessed yet and am hoping to see everything this second time around. The Brooklyn Museum was very fun adventure and well worth my time. I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in art, as well as sculptures, and fine displays.



Guy Pene du Bois (American, 1884-1958)
“The Beach”
1924



Sanford Biggers
“Blossom”
2007



Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
“The Latino List”
2011

  

The Best Pizza Ever!!!

Eddie’s Delicious Home Made Pizza Recipe

For my Culinary Design Project, I decided to go along with making pizza. Not just any pizza however, but home made pizza with whole wheat pitas, shredded whole milk cheese, and any kind of tomato sauce. This can then be baked in your oven to your perfection. This particular kind of home made pizza is significant to me because its the way my mom always makes pizza and I grew up with it. I have ate it with friends and family throughout my life very often, and still enjoy it this everyday home made appetizer at least once a week in my current life. It is very easy to make since it uses common fridge items that you might already have, is very cost effective, and tastes great at the end.

Ingredients

1) Whole Wheat Pita (6 per packet) -Preferred

2) Francesco Rinaldi Sweet and Tasty Tomato Sauce (24oz.) -Preferred

3) Polly-O Whole Milk Mozzarella (32oz.) -Preferred

Instructions

Step 1) Gather materials. Pita Bread which can be bought at many places these days, same as
            with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. You might also have these materials in your
            fridge, since they are very common use food products.

Step 2) Grind up the mozzarella cheese in a big bowl so that you have the most difficult and time
            consuming part done with.

Step 3) After this open the Pita Bread. Lay a couple of pitas out on a thin metal sheet or plate    
            which is commonly found in many house hold ovens.

Step 4) Open the tomato sauce and spread it over all the pitas with a spoon.

Step 5) Spread the previously shredded mozzarella cheese over the tomato sauce covered  
            pittas.

Step 6) Turn on your oven to any temperature above 300 degrees so your pizza can cook well
            and quick to your perfection.

Design in Our Lives Reaction

Upon visiting the third floor of The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), I have realized that design has a absolute impact in our everyday lives. I have also learned of the word ergonomics, which is the study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, as well as its movements, and its cognitive abilities. This meaning that every device, machine, furniture, and vehicle is designed in that certain way that it is believed to be best suit the needs of a human. To me this is very important because as I walked the third floor of MoMA, I realized how many of the designs and ideas displayed here had “higher functionalities”, while others had “lower functions”.

Of the many designs and ideas I saw at The Museum of Modern Art, two in particular really stood out to me as a “high function” works. To me this means Objects that are important and make our everyday lives, easier, and more livable because of there purpose, ease of use, and simplicity. The first object is “The MetroCard Vending Machine”. I believe that this is a “high function” object because It is a very straight forward machine that displays all your options on a big touch screen and has a very easy to use, user interface. The MTA “MetroCard Vending Machines” lets you choose between four languages. You can then get a metro card out of it or refill a metro card if you already have one very easily and quickly to the value of your choice. It even asks if you want a receipt at the end which is pretty awesome and if you don’t want it, it gets rid of it for you. Metro Card Vending machines primarily help tens and thousands of New Yorkers purchase metro cards everyday to help them get to there destinations. Without them, traveling would be much more difficult and less convenient. My second high functional object is the “AnalogDigital Clock”. This Clock” is a high function object to me because it allows us to just take a glimpse at it and know what time is, as oppose to looking and studying a regular analog clock to get the exact time. The “AnalogDigital Clock” comes into a great use when you slightly awake from your sleep and don't know what time it is so you just glance over at it, notice the time, and then decide to get up or stay in bed depending on whether you have anything important to do or not. “AnalogDigital Clocks” simplify the idea of telling time by helping us recognize time easier, faster, more accurately due to its easier user interface.

However out of all the designs and ideas I came across at MoMa, there were also objects that seemed to have lesser functionality, therefore making them items with “low functions”. To me this means objects that seem they are more difficult to use, are less simplistic, and should have overall less purpose or use in our everyday lives because, there are better versions of that one idea and that idea just does not have any real useful purpose to me. The first lower function design that stuck out to me was the “Sweepers Clock” which basically resembles a traditional Analog Clock with out the numbers making it further difficult to tell the time. The hands of this clock consist of garbage being moved by two men with giant floor sweepers accordingly to the time next to this which is displayed in an Analog Digital format and is called “AnalogDigital Clock”. Although this object was cool, unusual, and artsy, it seemed pointless from my perspective and is more ergonomic through the use of it being a digital clock only. My second low function object was the “SMSlingshot” which can basically shoot digital messages onto building facades and other surfaces, turning them into public messages to be seen by more than one person. They can be removed whenever the controller of the “SMSlingshot” decides to remove it through the screen on it. To me this seems cool at first, but upon thought becomes pointless because i don’t see the real use for this object other than it being displayed at MoMA and to show how far technology has advanced and what we can do with it.

In the end, the overall use of an object as well as its functionality varies by person. I believe that a highly functional object should be simple to use, make our lives easier, and more livable because of what they have to offer. That Art and design are always two separate ideas, and without one the other doesn't exist. However the combination of the two equal to the best possible outcome of an object or item and makes them the most functional

Masamichi Udagawa (Japanese, b. 1964)
and Sigi Moeslinger (Austrian, b. 1968)
of Antenna Design (USA, est. 1997)
David Reinfurt (American, b. 1971)
Kathleen Holman (American, b. 1962)
“MetroCard Vending Machine”
1999

Maarten Baas (Dutch, b. Germany 1978)
“AnalogDigital Clock”
2009

Maarten Baas (Dutch, b. Germany 1978)
“Sweeper’s Clock”
2009

Christian Zollner (German, b. 1981)
Patrick Tobias Fischer (German, b. 1980)
Thilo Hoffman (German, b. 1980)
and Sebastian Piatza (German, b.1985)
of VR/Urban (Germany, est. 2008)
“SMSlingshot
2009

Art and World Reactions

September 11th, 2001 was a very sad and tragic day. New York city on that day lost not only over 3,000 lives but also the most beautiful buildings in the world. All I recall was me being in elementary school at the time and everyone in my classes were being called home, one after another and me not understanding why until later that day.

The first piece of art I pick to talked about is from the 5th floor of the M building at LaGaurdia Community College. It is titled "Medium: Black Plastic Body Bags". This work of art displays two large black body bags that held up vertically represent the World Trade Center. The flaps are open to represent open space in which now the towers are gone. However they also are opened and empty because majority of the bodies that these bags were suppose to hold were all either burned or reduced to rubble. This is a very sad, yet meaningful piece of art that deserves better recognition.

The second piece of art I choose to talk about is from MoMa Ps1. The title to this art work is "Lost and Found 2006". It represents the "If you see something, Say Something" campaign launched by the Metropolitan Transit Authority in 2002. This work of art is interesting because all it is, is a black leather brief case place on the floor in a corner of a giant white room. There is a lock on it so that whatever is inside stays inside without anyone, not even the artist having knowledge on what it contains. This is ironic in the way that if we see a suspicious package anywhere in the transit system we are also clueless as to what might be inside, and also might be to scared to check, so we would just inform a cop.

The third and final piece of art I chose to talk about is also from MoMa Ps1. It is basically a news paper article called "Ground Zero 2003" which was posted in the New York Times. It shows an aerial view of ground zero, with the World Trade Center site being covered by green paper in the shape of a trapezoid. Pretty much this artist by the name of Ellsworth Kelly, who is one of Americas leading abstractionist states that he envisions a large green slate of grass covering ground zero in the future as a form of respect to all that dies that die. He also states that no additional building were needed at the site, but just the mound of grass and a museum. It ended with him saying that making art has to do with honesty, back in 1969.

All these works of art I observed and looked at were all very meaningful. They all had different  perspectives as do I about September 11, 2001. However that day was very tragic and frightening for all New Yorkers, and will go down in history as the worst day in New York City. Rest in peace all the innocent lives that we lost that day, and lets all hope that nothing like this ever happens again in the Big Apple.

Cris Cristotaro
"Medium: Black Plastic Body Bags"
September 2001

Lara Favaretto
"Lost and Found 2006"
2006

Ellsworth Kelly
"Ground Zero, 2003"
2003