Marcel Duchamp, a renowned artist once stated that: “The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act” (Duchamp). This statement embodies the ideals of what art is and what art means to those who view it. With this idea from Duchamp in mind viewers have the ability to place their own ideals and feelings into the art that they view. This ideal could be interpreted as a blessing or a curse depending upon the artist. 

There are many artists who create work and fully enjoy how others see and experience their work to the point where they might not even name their piece. While other artists have a strict idea in mind that they always explain the meaning and emotion behind each of their artworks; which takes the interpretation away from the viewer. As an artist, I personally enjoy viewing and interpreting art on my own. I also enjoy when others interpret my art in their own way. However, I know plenty of non-artists viewers who are often confused by artwork and want an explanation of what the artist intended. 

People are complex, one person’s views are often not the same as someone else’s, this is the main connection between the artist and viewer, they are simply both people and both have the ability to feel and think in multitudes of ways. As an artist, you must keep that in mind if you intend to create pieces for display, as it is important to be open to these differences. Personally, I believe that art interpretation depends upon the artist, if they wish to explain their ideas and emotions or not. However, even though that option is up to the artist, the ability of the viewer to place their own ideas or emotions onto a piece is also completely valid and depends upon the viewer and their experience. A viewer can see a piece of work that could have an entirely different meaning than how the viewer sees but even so the piece still fulfills its purpose. Art is meant to be a vessel of expression for all those who view or create. 

As people we often have the ability to connect with those around us. Most of us want to understand one another and can find similarities between each other to bring about a connection. For those artists who enjoy explaining their work often explain their background as well, which helps viewers connect with them on a more personal level. Since we strive for those connections, if a viewer knows the life that the artist led, it is easier for the viewer to place themselves in the artists ideals and emotions. For example: when I first saw “Cell XXV” by Louis Bourgeois I felt a sense of discomfort, and eeriness that sat in the depths of my stomach. 

When I learned of her past, especially how her father treated their mother by allowing his mistress to live at their family home was horrible to imagine. It changed the way I viewed this work, I still felt some of my original emotions but I also noticed the anger, and the hate that is present in the work. Even though I enjoyed how I originally felt viewing this piece, I did not mind that my views changed when I learned and connected with Bourgeois. I did not feel as though I lost connection or gained connection with the work. I could never fully feel or understand her pain or anger that she felt creating this work, but I can empathize with her and her emotions while also still feeling my own. 

Work Cited 

Bourgeois, Louise. Cell XXV (The view of the world of the jealous wife). 2001. https://www.xavierhufkens.com/artists/louise-bourgeois

Duchamp, Marcel, from “The Creative Act,” lecture, April 1957, quoted in Lebel, Robert. Marcel Duchamp. Grove Press. 1959. p.78

When I was around ten years old my older sister was asked to play piano at the Philadelphia Art Museum, obviously since I was so young my mother brought me along while my sister played piano in the mail hall of the Museum. At one point I became so bored that I walked off by myself. I ended up wondering into the European Paintings section. I was instantly hooked and found myself wondering and staring at the beautiful works lining the walls. Of course at this time I had little experience with painting, but I could not get myself to look away from those colors. They captivated me and I begged my mom to let me pick up paint’s later that day.

For this assignment, I chose to go back to my own roots and write about the artworks that brought me some of my first classical inspirations. To this day I love this style of painting, the way the brush texture and thickness of the oil paints leave a beautiful mark on the canvas to the point that you want to run your hand over the paintings and feel the dried paint. While also being able to create beautifully blended pieces at the same time is fascinating. Although these paintings are very artistically pleasing, they also present strong emotions that really connect with me. These paintings have always given me a sense of calm and peacefulness that I take great comfort in and have not been able to find in any modern art. Classic European artwork is something that most people could find stereotypical, but that does not diminish the emotional connection one feels to these artworks or their artistic beauty.

2.W.2 gallery1

When you take a look into the art of Louis Bourgeois you see a large array of expressionism. Her work is filled with emotion and intention that connect with Barrett’s description and overall idea of expressionism. You can feel the heavy emotions that are prevalent in her work. A lot of Bourgeois’ work is centered around her difficult childhood and her struggles with her father that you can easily and deeply feel represented in her sculptures. You feel the turmoil in the dark metal, dramatic lighting, and eerie sculpting.

3.M.3 louisbourgeois

When you take a look into the works of Louis Bourgeois you are met with incredibly intimate sculptures and paintings that leave you with a sense of life. You can almost feel the life and age that these works represent and show different emotions of her past and present. Her works are metaphors of the different eras and stages of her life. These range from the more obvious, to the more thought provoking but either way these works show the life of a wonderful and strong women.

3.M.2 xavierhufkins

In this video we see some of Bourgeois’ beautiful hand sculptures. They show hands holding each other, and you feel a sense of helping and community. According to Bourgeois they are supposed to show helplessness and how we are meant to help others. In these works you see a cluster of hands each holding one another in different ways, with a new arm being added each sculpture. I felt as though these hands were a symbolic sign of unity and community.

3.M.1 lbourgeios art21

In this reading we learned about the different types of tropes and how they relate to art in both a literal and figurative sense. We have four major tropes that we discuss in this reading. They consist of a metaphor, which relate different things together, metonym, which relate by connecting different things, synechdoche, which relates one thing instead of another thing and finally irony, which relates opposites within an expression.

3.R.3 mastertropes

In this reading we learned about semiotics, and it’s significance in our lives and how that significance relates to art. The three forms of signs that we reviewed in this reading were an iconic, an indexical and a symbolic sign. We see most of these signs within our daily lives. A lot of symbolic signs are seen on our daily drives to indicate how drivers interact with the road. The red on a traffic light means stop, just like a red stop sign. Indexical signs are also used in our daily lives through our texting and messaging. Most kids know what the different meanings of emojis are without having to have someone explain it to them. Lastly, and most abstract is iconic signs, that show things in ways that they are like, but not exactly ‘are’, we see examples of this on menus in restaurants and cafes, we see pictures of the food but we see the cleanest, and most appetizing form of that food, which often differs from how it actually ends up arriving.

3.R.2 semioticsforart

According to Barrett, expressionism is ” an eminent, popular and appealing theory of art”(pg.65). This idea of expressionism focuses heavily on emotion, and it is within that emotion that artists create their works. Barrett says that expressionism and cognitivism, which is the idea that “art provides knowledge of the world in unique and powerful ways”. that would be lost if not preserved in this format (pg.65). While both of these forms contain heavy emotions, expressionism and cognitivism they are created in two different emotional levels and intent.

3.R.1 feelthinkknow

Barrett, Terry. Why Is That Art?: Aesthetics and Criticism of Contemporary Art. Oxford University Press, 2017.

In Barrett’s Why is That Art?, we get a few different depictions of what “Realism” actually means. Barrett begins his explanations of Realism by discussing the concepts of two philosophers Aristotle and Plato. For them, Realism is “the real in its perfect, ideal form that is the object of beauty, a form of visual perfection”(pg. 22). This is the Greeks’ ideal form of Realism that was once seen as the true form of art in that time period. Many artists have since altered the original ideals of Realism to reflect a new idea of what is “real”. In this instance, Barrett describes Realism as “a picture is Realistic if a typical viewer tends to be deceived by it, thinking the picture is what it is a picture of” (pg. 34). This description seems to follow a more modern take on Realism, which stems from emotion and feeling rather than a photo-realistic artwork. 

Artist Jeff Koons is a modern Realism artist who has been known to create works that spark up massive debates on what is art. A majority of Koons work is often described as pornography, kitsch or mimesis, and is often argued that his work is not ‘art’ but instead a way to bring in money and fame. Koons has often been branded as controversial in the art world. In Koons Made in Heaven series, he created paintings, and sculptures that depicted him and his wife having intercourse. This, like most of his work is heavily debated and scrutinized by critics and fellow artists, yet revered by the public for being raunchy and real. Koons work is known mostly because of the controversy that surrounds it, it attracts viewers and is the main reason why his work is able to be sold for a ridiculous profit. People love a scandal, people love drama, and people love to discuss controversies and argue over irrelevant topics that spark interest and Jeff Koons works that system like a New York stock broker. 

The only reason Jeff Koons is as popular as he is, is because he was born in the right place at the right time. His work is far too controversial to have ever been accepted in Ancient Greece where the main art critics were Plato and Aristotle who saw Realism as a form of beauty. One could argue that the sculptures do depict beautiful forms of the human body. Barrett wrote that “Made in Heaven might provide Plato with an interesting test case as a work of art, it would be difficult for Plato to deny the beauty of the bodies of the subjects” (pg. 39). but when you see what those forms are performing you would surly second guess if Plato would approve; you would know that Aristotle would be absolutely appalled. 

(2.W.1 Module 2)

Work Cited 

Barrett, Terry. Why Is That Art?: Aesthetics and Criticism of  Contemporary Art. 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2017.

After reading chapter two of “Why is That Art”, Barrett brings up interesting ideas on the realism aspect that Jeff Koons art resides. After reviewing Koons works from Puppy to Made in Heaven, you can argue that his works, although over the top, all have a form of realism. Barrett explains that in Puppy, the overall feel of a puppy is there. It is created using flowers; which the rough texture gives off the impression of fur, while the entire sculpture leaves you with the same feelings of joy a puppy would. In Made in Heaven, although the poses and depictions are graphic, it is a realism-esqu form of the human body, which in Plato’s own definition would most likely fall under the category of realism, no matter what the pose and connotations of the work is present.

2.M.3 Jeff Koons