ART 200X Blog

  Early to Mid 20th Century Japanese Art Hasui, Kawase. Moonlight over Lake Kamo in Sado Island . 1921, Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN, United States. Koitsu, Tsuchiya. Spring Rain at Matsushima . 1936, National Museum of Asian Art, DC, United States. Takeji, Fujishima. Shirahama Hot Spring . 1940, Ukiyo-e Search,  https://ukiyo-e.org/image/artelino/19043g1 Hiroshi, Yoshida. Kawaguchi Lake, from the series Ten Views of Fuji . 1926, National Museum of Asian Art, DC, United States. My Thoughts      Researching these paintings has led me to discover just how beautiful woodblock prints are. After the Ukiyo-e period of art, woodblock prints regained popularity. As such, it's equal parts surprising and appreciable that the technique- which dates back to as early as 220 AD- managed to become so widespread during the early 20th century. While woodblock printing has largely phased out today due to modern printing methods, the style is still practiced by niche artists, keeping it alive eve

Post War Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art Dubuffet, Jean.  Site Visited . 1981.  Wikiart, https://www.wikiart.org/en/jean-dubuffet/site-visited Dubuffet, Jean.  Cow With a Subtle Nose . 1954, Museum of Modern Art, NY, United States. These two paintings are by Jean Dubuffet, a French painter who is most well known for starting the Art Brut movement. Dubuffet largely resented authority and never officially received an education in art. He would gain notoriety through his art which rejected the conventions of popular culture at the time. This is reflected in the ideology of the Art Brut movement which focusses on "Outsider art" by non-formally educated and trained artists. This style was created to reject the tropes and conventions which art followed- in essence promoting "less skilled" or conventionally talented artists. According to The Art Story, Dubuffet "described [mainstream culture] as "asphyxiating."," and "He was attracted to the art

  Motley. Archibald. Gettin' Religion . 1948, Whitney Museum, NY.      Motley, a renowned visual artist, created the painting " Gettin' Religion " during 1948. This came shortly after the Harlem Renaissance, which lasted from about 1918-1937. The influence of such a movement can be seen in not just " Gettin' Religion ", but in many of Motley's other works. Born in New Orleans in 1891, Motley lived through the historic Harlem Renaissance and was not just influenced by it, but was a big influencer of it. Motley uses vivid colors and twisting shapes to create an eye catching- if not visually pleasing- scene. In this painting you can see the mingling of both black and white people during a time when segregation was in full swing. The crowded night scene pairs well with the band of jazz players on the left hand side, all the while an unnaturally tall man preaches in the middle of the street. This is all to show just how vibrant and loud the world Motley l