Blogorama

1. Welcome

The term “art” covers such a large spectrum of ideas, things, and concepts. As an Art History major, with an emphasis in modern art, I am very interested in the standards of art and the requirements of art, or often the lack thereof. I hope to explore how technology relates to these ideas particularly in modern and contemporary art, specifically from 1940 through the present. However, I do not want to limit myself to just the relationship between modern and contemporary art and new technologies.

Although my main concentration in Art History has been in modern and contemporary art, I continue to be fascinated with any and all art up to the present. Though new technologies obviously cannot be related to the production of this past art, it absolutely relates to it in other ways. New technologies continue to become increasingly important in understanding older art. With new technologies, art historians can discover more and more about how art was produced, with what it was produced, etc. Art historians have even been able to use new technology to discover the original compositions underneath some of the greatest old masterpieces celebrated today. For instance, Giorgione’s The Tempest features a mysterious scene of a nursing mother in the wildness with a soldier standing guard, among other strange aspects of the painting. However, modern technology revealed that Giorgione had originally painted a second woman, in the nude, in the place where the soldier now stands. This discovery has opened the doors for much more study and interpretation of this famous work of art. In my blog, I would like to discuss and continue to explore instances like that of The Tempest to illustrate the important role new technologies has played in the study of art both old and new.

Giorgione, The Tempest, c. 1508, Venice, Italy.

Lastly, I would also like to discuss how technology has affected the art world in terms of accessibility of information about art. One-hundred years ago, the Mona Lisa may have been a familiar masterpiece in terms of hearing its name. However, fewer people would have been able to see an actual picture of the artwork, let alone be able to see it in person. New technologies of all kinds including, but not limited to, the internet, efficient travel, and mass production, have made it possible for millions of people to study and experience art that they would not have been able to study and experience in the past. I, for one, am eternally grateful for the advantages technology provides in relation to my study of Art History.

Without modern technology, the study of Art and Art History would not be what it is today. So, as someone in love with Art History, I have come to the conclusion that art loves technology.

2. Profile of artblog.net

Tonight I discovered an amazing art blog logically located at Artblog.net. Artblog focuses the visual arts, arts writing, design, art criticism, the artist's life, exhibition and book reviews, rants, and quotes. Artblog is written by Franklin Einspruch, who is an artist himself. In his own words, Einspruch describes what Artblog is all about:

I'm Franklin Einspruch, an artist and writer. I started blogging about art back in 2002 and put up Artblog.net in May 2003. What began as a rant into the digital aether about art has turned into a long conversation with people all over the world about art and how we experience it. I believe that art's main power is to encapsulate human experience in an aesthetic, intuitive, non-verbal way. Art that has other agendas tends to arouse my suspicion, but I'll give it a shot. For more information, see the Third-Person About.

In the aforementioned Third-Person About, Einspruch goes on to say:

Personal, contrarian, subjective, independent, spirited, and consitutionally indifferent to the art "scene," as people call it, Artblog.net seeks to apply clear looking, clear thinking, and clear writing to visual art. It posts exhibition reviews, art book reviews, reports on comics and illustration, essays on a broad range of concerns within visual art, special publications, and a weekly roundup of hyperlinks to art-related stories selected by the author on the basis of importance, humor, or oddball virtue. Artblog.net publishes each weekday.

According the blog's traffic page or "peastat", it approximates 61 hits per hour--this number is based on recent hits and is therefore subject to change frequently. The blog has also been featured in various art magazines.

One recent post on Artblog.net shows us the work by artist John Link. John Link's abstract artwork is really something. Although Artblog featured several of his paintings, this one is my favorite:

John Link: Battled Ground, 2008.

For more art by John Link, visit johnlink.org.

Another great post on Artblog was a post on New Modernism. Since I have been studying modernism (and postmodernism) in art for the past four years, I got really excited about this post. The post quotes what Walter Darby Bannard has to say about new modernism, and then analyzes it.

Though I've only mentioned two of Artblog's posts, the blog has so much to offer anyone interested in art. While the blog is very professional and scholarly, it often presents its material in a fun and more interesting way. Whether you're an artist, art historian, or just an art lover, the variety of posts (some long, some short and sweet) will deserve your undivided attention.

Overall, I think that Artblog makes for a great quick read or reference, and I look forward to visiting it again and again! And although I intend for my blog to focus a little more on how technology affects art, Artblog.net will definitely make a great reference for my blog in the future!

3. Voice profile of art.blogging.la

Looking through some of my favorite art-oriented blogs, there was a clear winner for favorite "voice". This was art.blogging.la. While some other art blogs read more formal and "professional", art.blogging.la presents its material in a more fun and comical way. I mean, if we're talking about modern art, why shouldn't we have fun with it?

On May 24th, Caryn Coleman of art.blogging.la went to various art events and openings. If you've ever been to an art opening, whether at a small gallery or big museum, you know us art lovers have a good time when we all get together to celebrate new art! If you have never gotten the pleasure of attending an opening, you're probably imagining a bunch of stiffs moseying around, stopping every now and then to tilt their heads and mumble, "Hmmm." Well it's more like this: People of all ages, personalities, backgrounds, styles, etc. all in one place to share food, cocktails, and a passion for modern art. In other words, it's a party with art! Coleman touches on this experience in a comical way--as she should. In her Opening Recap she starts by saying:

Ending an evening of art openings at a karaoke bar in Korea-town with dealers, artists, and collectors is by far one of the best ways to be amused, embarrassed, and see the less serious side of your artworld friends.

While someone else may have said, "Going to art openings is fun," Coleman sums up her night in a much more humorous, descriptive. She paints a picture for us. Even just the words "art openings at a karaoke bar in Korea-town with dealers" makes me laugh right away and, more importantly, want to read on to see what went down!

The rest of Coleman's post is just as witty, fun, and descriptive as that amazing first sentence! In closing she writes:

I look forward to next weekend and, just perhaps, more karaoke.

Me too, Caryn.

Image from Coleman's May 24th Opening Recap post

Another post by Coleman I enjoyed was a short post about an Anselm Kiefer exhibit. The post was titled Anselm Kiefer’s “Palmsonntag (Palm Sunday)”
. In this post, she is slightly less detailed but she still gets to the point in style. Once again she makes the point interesting and fun just by a better choice of words and phrases--never underestimate the power of thesaurus.com! The Kiefer exhibition she discusses apparently stayed open a few extra weeks, and I can see why. It looks really cool!

I love the way she uses language to change the way you imagine what the exhibition looked like, even if she hadn't provided pictures. Here's a tidbit from the post that I found to be simple but funny:

The showing of this one-of piece was in conjunction with his show at Gagosian Beverly Hills was absolutely incredible and quite the feat of physics (an additional supporting wall structure was needed for the wall pieces)

Although the sentence doesn't read that well grammatically--I think she meant to say one-of-a-kind?--I envision the "feat of physics" really well. While she could have just said, "It must have been difficult," she spices it up with just three little words. But those three little words are so much more fun to read!

However, my favorite part came next...

I’m still not sure how they got the tree in there. If you missed it, shame on you...

If she hadn't brought up the mystery about how they could have gotten the tree there, I wouldn't even have thought about it! But, since she did in her comical way, I get this picture of a bunch of spunky artists trying to get a huge palm tree through a little gallery entryway. And then there's the "shame on you" comment. Yeah, it's just three little words, but they are more fun to read than "too bad" or the variety of things she could have said instead. Once again, thanks Caryn!

Image from Coleman's post on Anselm Kiefer’s “Palmsonntag (Palm Sunday)”

Overall, I love love love the voice of Caryn Coleman on art.blogging.la. It's fun, light-hearted, witty, and clever, but she still maintains a really professional blog. I hope to develop my voice in the same way she has. To sum up, I'll say this: I went to art.blogging.la for the Los Angeles art news; I stayed for Caryn Coleman's voice. I hope that someone will be able to say the same thing about my voice on Art World Now someday!