Blog Post #8

Ricardo Castro

Art

06/03/14

The galleries I saw on our trip were phenomenal. I enjoyed all of them, but two of them really stuck out to me. One was an installation of a chocolate factory from Colombia by Oscar Murillo. This installation was one of my favorites, because not only was there free delicious chocolate, but there were real workers working in the back! Peeping through the shelves you could see workers in the back wrapping up the chocolate in their full body suits. I found this to be unique and interesting for an art gallery it literally brought the piece to life. However my number one favorite piece of art was “Wolfbat Leopard Snake” by Dennis McNett. The way McNett used his creativity to create this piece of art really makes me enjoy art even more. The mixture of  grayish looking scales and a cool bright blue on the stomach of the beasts and its eyes really captures my eyes. Along side the warm pink long tongue that falls down its mouth, this piece of art captivated me enough to want to get a tattoo of it. 

There were other pieces of art such as this type of art where if you moved it seemed as if the piece of art would move with you. Patrick Hughes, the creator of these pieces of art, really captures the cool blue colors of the ocean and the sky as he adds the orange warm colored buildings that seem to be on top of the water. With the effect of it moving with you it really brings life to the artwork. One really stuck out to me, which was a piece where from the front it looked like a cut up stomach with blood dripping down from the bottom. However when I walked past it there was a handle, so I was able to conclude that it was a teacup. This piece was by Sterling Ruby and ironically named “The Cup.” This piece from the angle I was looking at it made it seem very gory and unpleasant to look at, like a cup full of blood.

Blog post #6

Ricardo Castro

Art

05/19/14

At least once a day a traveling New Yorker has an encounter with a homeless person. Whether it is on the train or on the street, however most people never stop and think about how bad they must have it at the moment, or let alone acknowledge them. I feel as if when homeless people ask for some help or try and explain their situation many people just turn a blind eye. Leaving the homeless person to feel like a ghost in a train cart or on the street. I strongly believe homeless people should be recognized more, because they’ve endured more then many people can begin to believe. Whether they were former soldiers for the military, or someone who has succumbed into the grasp of drug addiction, they all have a story to tell. If I were to dedicate a monument to homeless people I would design it to be several hands that are high reaching out for a hand that is on the low. To symbolize that if people took time in their day to help others then the world wouldn’t be such a bad place. That one person can make a difference, but a group of people can make change.

The monument would be made of melted change to symbolize that a little bit of change could help someone in that dilemma out by tenfolds, and also to literally represent change. If I had to choose where this monument would be placed I would pick a wealthy neighborhood in hopes that it would impact those people and maybe inspire them to actually want to make change. I truly believe everyone should be entitled to food and a place to stay no matter what their situation is.

Museum Essay #2

Ricardo Castro

Art

04/15/14

Essay #2

          Setting my first steps into the Guggenheim museum was phenomenal. The architecture of the inside is a spiral. Ascending in the museum exposes you to different types of art like sculptures and paintings. My impression of Carrie Mae Weems exhibition was deep and critical as an observer. The way she takes photos reveals so much emotion where each photo combines to make one story. Weems has many pieces that will leave you astonished at the messages that are in the images. One piece of work that interested me the most was the images of her in what it appeared to be her dining area. Each image depicted a different emotion, or action, yet it retained the same setting. In one image she is looking down at her boyfriend/husband who is sitting down at the table. He’s sitting there with his head down, reading the newspaper. She’s leaning against the wall, staring down at him, as if she resents him. This image stuck out to me the most, because I can sense the tension in the room.

          Weems challenged many stereotypes that are used against African Americans. In one of her images she shows an African American female holding a fried chicken drum stick. On the bottom of the image the captions read what is in the photo. For example “Girl with fried chicken”. Another image portrays an African American male holding a watermelon with what the picture is showing as captions. Both of these are stereotypes held against African Americans labeling them all to be known for liking fried chicken and watermelon. I strongly believe Weems uses images instead of paintings and sculptures, because an image can capture a moment perfectly. Sure, a painting can look real and portray strong emotions; however, a picture can capture every detail of emotion and expression in someone’s face. You are limited as a painter, sculptor, or drawer, especially if you don’t have excellent skills as one of those professions.

          She uses the slavery era to help express emotion in her images and to help send her message across to people. For instance an image of her shows an African American boy with a white baby girl touching the top of his head and his chin as if she was clamping his head. The image states, “Others said ‘only thing a niggah could do was shine my shoes’” (Guggenheim museum). Another image portrays an African American female on the bed naked with an awkward smile, that shows a fake content expression. The image states, “You became the playmate of the Patriarch”  (Guggenheim). There are a collection of images that portray different racial and stereotypes African Americans have faced and still face today such as these two impacting photos.

          This museum trip was different, because it was more compact. In the MET I felt like it was too big. I felt like a fly in a big room. It was like being thrown into central park. Unlike the Guggenheim museum where it spirals upward, so you are technically being guided to seeing pieces of artwork in a sequence. Overall I liked the MET, however the Guggenheim just had the structure to make your experience more enjoyable and easy.

Word Count: (534)

The Cloud Dragon and the Aquatic Heart

The image to the left I call "The Cloud Dragon". This image was taken in my apartment in the Bronx on the 9th floor by my amazing mother. This image just yelled out to me. The way the sun hit the top part of the cloud (the dragon's head) making it look like a neon orange or yellow to me. Then as it gets lower the body and the cloud it stands upon is purple with tints of orange. This images negative space is a cool shade of blue, while the positive space is the dragon and the cloud beneath it, which are warm and cool colors. The fact the clouds transformed into what to me appears to depict a dragon fascinates me, and has inspired me to want to get a tattoo similar to this concept, or image.
The image to the right I call "The Aquatic Heart". This image was taken in Cali, Colombia in the apartment by me. As I was brushing my teeth I glanced into the see through glass shower to see what seemed to me to be a heart! The chances of this happening on its own I thought was one in a million, so I quickly took the picture before it would disappear. The negative space would be the dark grey marble tiles, while the heart and the soap residue is the positive space. I like to think that the heart is smoking, due to the soap residue that is next to it, which gives it a special bond of water and gas.

Ricardo Castro

Art and Society

03/28/14

Museum Review #1

         There is a strong relationship between life and death. They both share a bond, because one can't exist without the other. Melchior d’ Hondecoeter painted Peacocks in 1683. Its form is a 3d painting made with oil on canvas. The painting depicts a beautiful peacock that has other animals gathered around it such as a monkey, a squirrel, a turkey, and another type of bird with a long neck. To the right of the peacock, which is in the center of the painting, are fruits. The peacock is in the form of a diagonal line and is a large piece in the painting so it automatically catches the viewers’ attention. There is no negative space, every piece of the canvas contains an object or setting. You can see trees, a flying bird, and a turkey in the distance. The painting has a lot of cool colors, with very little warm such as the fruits and the neck of the bird. Jan Weenix painted Gamepiece With a Dead Heron (“Foloner’s Bag”) in 1695. It’s a 3-D oil on canvas painting. This painting depicts a group of different types of birds all dead close by each other. In the horizon there are trees and water it seems. It also looks as if there are a few people in the background as well. This painting has no negative space as well and contains more warm colors then cool. The warm colors on the flowers make the painting more vibrant near the biggest bird that is dead.

          Peacocks and Gamepiece With a Dead Heron (“Foloner’s Bag”) both hold a strong differentially. Hondecoeter’s Peacocks portrays the beauty of life. How serene nature and life can be. Whereas Weenix’s Gamepiece With a Dead Heron (Foloner’s Bag”) portrays the horrid sight of death. The dark and dreary painting fills the viewer with sadness as they are left to witness a group of birds that have died due to the hands of mankind. Peacocks fills the viewer with bliss and peace as they observe the beauty of the peacock and the other small animals that have gathered together. I strongly believe the purpose of Peacocks was to show the world the beauty of a peacock since its  one of the most colorful and beautiful feathered birds. Perhaps even the beauty of the peacock’s feathers brought the animals together. Whereas Gamepiece With a Dead Heron (“Foloner’s Bag”) purpose is to sadden the viewers and show the world how we kill a lot of animals. These two paintings also hold some similarities, they both contain animals in the paintings. The main theme of both paintings center around birds. They both demonstrate the beauty of birds in their own way. Both these paintings use birds in order to send a greater message to its viewers and society.

Word count: (454)

Blog post #2

This Zao Gongen 11th century sculpture has quite a few visual traits. Zao was worshiped in religious practices, and was known to symbolize sheer physical power. Therefore one of his visual traits is strong. The way he's kind of flexing his arm along with his stance makes him seem pretty fearsome. Another visual trait is frightening, because his face portrays a demons face in my opinion. The color of the sculpture I would say is being used to show his power and uniqueness, because no human being is blue. In horror movies the monster is usually an uncanny color like red, or blue in this case. The shape resembles a humans body to perhaps give belief to the followers of this religion that they could be like their god if they followed the religion and dedicated their life to their god.The line I see in this sculpture is diagonal to symbolize power, because his left foot is firmly on the ground. The stance he's in symbolizes balance, because he's perfectly balanced on one foot with ease it seems. Objectively I see that he has a human body. From the sculpture that is all I can tell, however Subjectively I can see that his face isn't like other humans. Also his ears aren't like any humans, more animal-like. What I see is a see is a sculpture of some sort of beast or god. From looking I see a spiritual being that resembles some type of animal. Just from looking at his stance and visual features I can tell he's powerful and very balanced like how some TV shows present monks.

Week 1 HW

Being a New Yorker it is common for many of us to rush and never just stop. To just pause for a few seconds to admire the beauty around us. Now I know that New York City probably has the world's most dirtiest subway stations. However through the dirt and grime there are things to truly appreciate. Throughout our subway stations there are many pieces of art that go unnoticed. I can honestly say I never realized all the art that makes its home in our stations. On 103rd in Harlem there is a train station that has this piece of art displayed for everyone to see when they walk down to get on the platform. This piece of art struck my attention, because not only is it very diverse, but also I never really took the time to look at it! Realizing our stations are full of art has made me want to travel to different stations with an endeavor of taking pictures of all the different types of art. If I had to describe its form I would say it resembles something similar to a collage. There are all of these different drawings mixed into one piece of art. I don't know what other people may see, but personally the yellow guy on the right side reminds me of Spongebob. I think this art piece was made to bring beauty and diversity to such a dull and dirty place. I also get a feeling this drawing could probably be targeting a younger audience, because when I took a glance at it I couldn't help but see cartoon looking faces. I strongly believe that this piece of art was made to refresh our vision and see the world in a new way. Many of us unfortunately grow up and gradually put away childish interest and behavior. Someone who played with action figures or watched cartoons as a child probably finds those things pointless and a waste of time. But we fail to see that losing our inner child is like losing a part of us, a creative part. Looking at this piece of art made me reminisce of the times I used to come home from school and watch cartoons (specifically Spongebob). Don't get me wrong, I'm still very childish, however it's never really the same once you are given responsibilities. So if I had to label the purpose of this art I would say for me it was to give me a surprise'blast from the past' and I welcomed it with open arms, because I would never want to lose that part of me. The fact one piece of art could conjure different feelings and ideas to each individual is truly remarkable, to say the least.