Module 12

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

Andy Warhol- Warhol is the name most think about when they hear Pop Art. He's pretty influential. I really enjoyed silk screening when I was working on my undergrad and I know Warhol did a lot of screen printing. I appreciate the way he experimented with his screens and colors. 

Isamu Noguchi: The Sculpture of Spaces- I don't know much of anything about this artist so I thought that was a good reason to watch the film.

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

Andy Warhol- He wanted to be a tap dancer, not an artist! He created Marilyn Monroe after she died and it made him famous. He then started making prints of Elizabeth Taylor. He mad A LOT of works about Liz Taylor. Warhol was obsessed with making money so he loved silk screening because he could quickly make copies with little effort. The prints of celebrities were a radical way of saying that we are consumers and these stars are just another consumable. He was sort of an odd human in my opinion. It was like he was so interested in fame that he basically just figured out an equation to get himself there all while kind of poking fun at fame at the same time? He even managed to depersonalize art as an artist which you would think is any artists worst nightmare.   

Isamu Noguchi: The Sculpture of Spaces- He was inspired by Japanese stone gardens. He felt like sculpture was connected to time and space. He called a lot of his works "gardens". He felt like gardens were an experience that you had to walk through and he wanted his works to pay homage to this idea. Noguchi often felt like he didn't have a place where he belonged and his gardens gave him that place. He worked with some of the greats who taught him to sculpt on a scholarship. He was commissioned to work on a park in Miami. 

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The reading was modern to post modern. The videos all fit into the time period and art movements. 

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

Andy Warhol- He is a great example of variation, repetition and even pattern.  I was surprised to learn that he made some films and published a magazine.

Isamu Noguchi: The Sculpture of Spaces- This video was a bit hard to get through. There was a lot of information about the artist, but the filming was rather dated. Sometimes I found it hard to hear, because the audio was echo-y. I did still enjoy seeing his work and learning about his story.