AAD011 Final findings CW1

 

Sustainability

In the last few decades and most notably years, we as a race have almost ‘woken up’ to the selfish harm we are causing to the planet that we call home, and the devastation we’ve caused to each different form of species that also lives alongside us. The science is growing clearer each day that our massive over use in greenhouse gasses, plastics, our mass production in the meat industry and farming alongside thousands of other horrible things we do to this planet.

(SUSTAINABLE ART, HUH?, 2021)

I found this sculpture of a form of sustainable art on the website for ‘Ecoistmagazine), it shows toilet roll tubes that have been cut and carved into trees, this work made me feel almost guilty because we always think of plastics doing harm but overlook the mass production of paper and card, we see ourselves great for recycling but that doesn’t stop deforestation does it? I thought it was really beautiful either way as it is such an intricate piece and very well thought out.

 

 

 

 

Identity

  

(Glenn Bigonet 2021)

Talking about the topic of identity I thought mostly of people’s perception on themselves. . “People see themselves differently from how they see others. They are immersed in their own sensations, emotions, and cognitions at the same time that their experience of others is dominated by what can be observed externally.” -(JSTOR, 2021). This caught my attention because it made me realise, I spend so much time broadcasting myself, my appearance, my manners in such a sense that only I can see in my own head, and I see what I see using my own bias. We all have an opinion of ourselves, negative or positive, but no matter how we see ourselves, others looking in will never see that same picture.. Not only psychologically do we see ourselves different but also physically! According to (Atasoy, 2021) “In a series of studies, Epley and Whitchurch showed that we see ourselves as better looking than we actually are”, it’s fascinating that we spend so much time complaining to others about how “ugly” we are and we can’t actually see the full ugliness, yet loved ones will call you beautiful. Your identity may not be to others what it is to you.

 

Innovation

The word innovation brought my mind straight to all the Big tech companies of today, such as Amazon, Tesla, Space X and various others. These companies are constantly creating new innovative products and lifestyle changes, for example Elon Musk’s mission to Mars with his company Space X.

But as of the last few years our focus on climate change has altered these big companies way of doing things, for example Amazon just recently deployed a new fleet of all electronic delivery vans to reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere. “Our research shows that delivering a typical order to an Amazon customer is more environmentally friendly than that customer driving to a store,” (Jeff Bezos CEO, 2019).  And this new innovation of electronic vehicles rose to popularity in 2008 when Tesla created the first completely electronic car dubbed “the Roadster”. (Tesla, Inc. | History, Cars, Elon Musk, & Facts, 2021). Innovation isn’t just centred around making and developing new technology to make things easier and more futuristic for us but that is redundant if these companies aren’t helping the future while doing so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communication

Communication is how we interact with each other to express our feelings and this is done through written, vocal and visual communication. Visual communication is a massive factor in art and is usually how the artist speaks to the viewers telling them what they feel through a piece. Communication through art sometimes includes words which is good but this isn’t necessary as the pieces speak for themselves either that be an obvious or more subtle through which colour pallet has been chosen for example. Throughout history communicative art has told story’s for example this piece by Eugene Delacroix commemorating the French Revolution of 1830. The piece is called “liberty leading the people” and depicts a woman stood on top of a mountain of dead bodies or victims of the revolution while she is holding up the french flag, in her other hand she holds a rifle but it is the raised flag that speaks to us, it shows us the pain through the battle and the loss of lives but through that the victory felt for the cause as the flag is raised through celebration.

(Liberty Leading the People | Description, History, & Facts, 2021)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gender

The artist Frida Kahlo perfectly represents womanhood and real femininity throughout her works such as her self portraits. In these portraits Kahlo challenges society’s demands for how Woman should look and act, women are supposed to be perfectly groomed with hair only in the right places but just like men we grow hair on our face, underarms and legs the same way a man does, yet women are expected to upkeep an extensive grooming process because we shouldn’t have this hair if we want to be “feminine”. Kahlo includes her hair by showing her thick uni row and moustache, to me this shows real femininity as this hair is natural, she finds happiness in her natural femininity. If hair is a mans feature then why do women grow hair?. Kahlo showing pride in her natural looks is the highest display of a woman happy in her own looks and being proud to be born into her own body.

(Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, 1940, By Frida Kahlo, 2021)

 

 

 

 

 

Place

To follow the theme of “place” I immediately thought upon Van Goths piece ‘cafe terrace at night.” This piece depicts a street in Paris from the view of a cafe, there may not be a lot of sentimental value behind the piece or where it’s based upon other than Van Goths liking towards the setting he chose and watching people comfortably eating and talking amongst each other, but through this piece the area has become quite famous and picked up a lot of tourism as the piece is loved all around the world. The colours have a very bright aesthetic with yellows and blues to show the glow from the artificial lighting and darker hues in the background as the street thins out into the darkness of the night. I really enjoy this piece in particular and I find it interesting how Van Goth wasn’t very famous in his life and in 1888 while he painted this piece had know idea how this small cafe and the street it’s situated would gain such popularity through the work he created.

(Café Terrace at Night, 2021)

 

 

 

 

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  • BIBLIOGRAPHY

Atasoy, O., 2021. You Are Less Beautiful Than You Think. [online] Scientific American. Available at: <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/you-are-less-beautiful-than-you-think/> [Accessed 3 February 2021].

Jstor.org. 2021. How We See Ourselves and How We See Others on JSTOR. [online] Available at: <https://www.jstor.org/stable/20054831?seq=1> [Accessed 3 February 2021].

Glennbigonet.com. 2021. Glenn Bigonet – Mental Health Counselor – Home Page. [online] Available at: <https://glennbigonet.com/Self-EsteemandIdentity.htm> [Accessed 3 February 2021].

Encyclopedia Britannica. 2021. Liberty Leading the People | Description, History, & Facts. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/topic/Liberty-Leading-the-People> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

Fridakahlo.org. 2021. Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird, 1940, By Frida Kahlo. [online] Available at: <https://www.fridakahlo.org/self-portrait-with-thorn-necklace-and-hummingbird.jsp> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

En.wikipedia.org. 2021. <i>Café Terrace at Night</i>. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Café_Terrace_at_Night#/media/File:Van_Gogh_-_Terrasse_des_Cafés_an_der_Place_du_Forum_in_Arles_am_Abend1.jpeg> [Accessed 10 March 2021].

 

 

 

 

 

 

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