Kathe Kollwitz

          Kathe Kollwitz was a great artists because of the so many different mediums of art she used. Drawing, painting, sculpting, printmaking and etching are just some of the various artworks she was capable of creating. Having to live through World War I and just before World War II, these huge points in history created the mindset for creation. As a result of having to live through the first World War, she must have seen and heard many things that molded her mind about what she wanted her artwork to convey.

Woman with Dead Child - Kathe Kollwitz

The Mothers - Kathe Kollwitz

          The human condition was probably the main point to her works of art. Whether it be poverty, hunger or even the result of the war, all of these things were terrible during that time. She must have felt such sorrow for those who were less fortunate in their lives. Though her work may give an uneasy feeling, they portray such huge points in time that affected the lives of so many.

Georgia O'keeffe

          Georgia was very young when she knew that she wanted to become an artist. As she got older, she attended art classes to try and find what she really loved about art. Even though people enjoyed the work that she produced as a student, she was never fully satisfied by her own creations. She decided to abandon the arts for a while because she had yet to find her "true calling." During this time, she decided to become a commercial artist and eventually a teacher. As she was teaching, she also started to attend classes at the Teachers college of Columbia University. It was then and there when Georgia finally became inspired to move back into the world of art. It was because of the professor, Arthur Dow, that Georgia finally found "something of her own" and that started her path to achieve great things within the world of art.  

Sky Above Clouds - Georgia O'keeffe

          Georgia focused on landscapes, cityscapes and still lifes when it came to her drawings and paintings. At the time, she went against what the art world was offering at the time (chaotic images) and instead created beautiful and precise pieces of art that are still known today as some of the most compelling.

Abstraction Blue - Georgia O'keeffe 

Cows Skull Red White and Blue - Georgia O'keeffe

Graphic Design (AT&T History and logo)

        It all began in the year 1875 when Alexander Bell was trying to invent the “talking telegraph,” or as we know it, the telephone. Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders joined bBell by agreeing to finance Bell’s work. After Bell achieved his goal of creating the telephone, the three men formed the Bell Telephone Company to further share the creation of the latest communication device. After spreading to most major cities and towns throughout the United States, the name of the company changed to the American Bell Telephone Company.  
Many telephone companies went into business between the years 1894 and 1904 trying to replicate Bell’s success. AT&T, started off in New York and began to spread over the years from Chicago to San Francisco. In the year 1889, AT&T obtained some assets from the American Bell Company and became the parent company from that moment on. This was their big break, which allowed them to become well known by others. Though some believe that AT&T was lucky to receive their fame, AT&T also helped out American Bell by creating the first electrical amplifiers that made long distance communication possible. 
As the years went on, AT&T and the Bell System became involved in more than just communication within the United States. Through partnering up with the Western Electric Company, they managed to send out equipment to other parts of the world (including London, Berlin, Tokyo and Sydney) to help out with their telephone companies. As more time passed, AT&T and the Bell System realized that they should just stick with their original statement of “Universal Telephone service within the United States.” Therefore, selling the Western Electric Company to the International Telephone and Telegraph Company (ITT) to pursue their goal. 
As the advances in technology increased and satellites were dispersed into the stars, affording telephones and services became exponentially more cost efficient. This created the trend that all households should contain at least one telephone, by the year 1969, the trend was above ninety percent. Overall, the AT&T’s Bell System was considered to be the best telephone company in the world. Unfortunately, all great things must come to an end. In the year 1984, the Bell System was dead due to new changes within telecommunications and so the U.S. Government put an end to the long lasting company that started it all. AT&T was now all alone (logo wise) and became a new company altogether when its logo changed from incorporating the Bell’s name to a transparent globe.

Light

            Whether it be natural light, or man made light, light in general is essential to life and to the arts. Light can be used for so many things with in the arts. The most obvious and crucial thing that light does is to allow us to see. Without it, there would be no way to observe anything because light needs to be reflected or absorbed by something in order for us to see it. Besides that, the position of light within a piece of art can set the mood for the viewer and can give clues as to what time of day is being resembled, or possibly what the artist is trying to tell you.

Light in Darkness - Unknown

             Another thing that light is important for is the way in which it can evoke a feeling. If there is a really bright, but soft light on the subject, one could feel a range of emotions ranging from happy to soothing. On the other hand, if there is a very dim light or none at all, a different range of emotions may rise such as, sad or depressing.

Silhouette in the tunnel - Patrick Brosset

Light can also be used as a tool within artwork. If the artist wants something to be reveled, then the usage of light on the subject may work to their advantage. If there were an item or a portion of the artwork that needs to be hidden, then the usage of light on another subject would work as well. Overall, light plays a very important role within the world of art because of how much it has to offer within any situation.

Matisse and Picasso

            Though Matisse and Picasso were separated by twelve years, both of their artworks were great enough to make history. Both of these men had to live through some tough times and hardships including both World Wars. Even while the war was taking place around them, their work took the priority spot within their lives and was almost always unaffected by their surroundings. Sure, the loss of loved ones, or the inability to stand played major parts in their lives and shows within their works, but who wouldn’t that effect?

            By some people, Matisse is considered to be the father of modern art since the dawn of the twentieth century, but one could also state that both of these great and influential artists are the creators of modern art. Separately, both Matisse and Picasso were so close in age and talent that it was almost if they were competing against each other. Some would call it a rivalry, or even a dialogue, while others would go as far as calling it a chess game where the pieces get taken from each side. Even Matisse once described it like a boxing match between two titans. Even though it was kind of like a game to see who would become the winner, they both realized that because the other existed, so did their pieces of art. One without the other would throw the “game” off balance because there would be no more competition, no one to challenge, and no one to stimulate the other into doing the best work possible. Though they were separate, they were actually combined in the way that they painted the ugly (to others who had not yet seen these works), but the outcome was something beautiful.

The Fall of Icarus - Matisse

The Red Onions - Matisse

Rose Nude - Matisse

            They are both known for their respective “periods” of art that classify them in a way. Matisse is well known for his pleasure in artworks containing the human body (mostly female) and a sort of interior design for homes. Also, later on in his life, the cutouts from colored paper gave him quite a reputation in simple but tremendous artwork. Picasso on the other hand is well known for his artwork, which created the actual “periods” of art. These periods include the “Blue,” “Rose,” “Cubist,” and the “Neoclassical.” The blue period focused mainly upon thoughts of poverty and depression. The rose period depicted acrobats and harlequins. The cubist period when he worked with Georges Braque and finally the neoclassical period where he created works that resembled ancient Greece. Therefore, both of these great artists deserve attention towards their artwork and themselves because they thought "outside the box."

Blue Nude - Picasso

Woman with a Flower - Picasso

The Weeping Woman - Picasso

The Price of Art

            As time passes by and many great artists come and go, their legacy still lives on through their artwork. Apparently, this legacy can be so powerful that people are willing to give away their hard earned money for a single piece of art. To some, this might seem like a waste of money, but to others, it could be considered as a great investment. Both sides have a point, but it all boils down to what kind of person it is. Someone may love art, a type of art, or specific artist, while on the other hand people could just care less.

            Recently, a triptych by Francis Bacon titled “Three Studies of Lucian Freud” was sold at auction for $142.4 million. Now, Francis Bacon is the artist to beat when it comes to money in exchange for art, because his artwork now holds the title of “most expensive work of art ever sold at auction.” It was said that after the approximate ten minutes of bidding, the room filled with dealers, art collectors, art lovers and more applauded for both the triptych and the winner.

            In my opinion, the triptych gives me mixed feelings. The colors that were used go very well together and give an overall warm look. Though there are subtle differences within each separate piece (mostly the positioning), they seem to be too similar to really catch my eye. Not knowing much about triptychs, that might just be what it is supposed to convey to the viewer. Though a love art, I could not see this piece being sold for the highest price ever, but that may be for a few different reasons. Not really knowing too much about this form of art, Francis Bacon or Lucian Freud could have an impact on the way I respond.

            In the year of 2002, a painting by Peter Paul Rubens titled “Massacre Of The Innocents” was sold for an amazing $76.7 million. This is a wonderful piece of art, maybe not in the feeling or story that it conveys, but within the painting itself. The way that the men, women and children are portrayed through the forms that they create as well as the shadows and facial expressions just give this piece a very clear relationship to its name. Even though the forms, figures, shadows and more are painted to perfection, there is still that very repulsive feeling that comes across to the viewer. From the infants lying discolored and lifeless on the ground, to the nails of a woman penetrating the skin of a man, this painting gets its message across quite clearly.