Studio Art: Artist Inspiration

This week in Studio Art we will complete our first art history unit by creating a work of art in our sketchbook inspired by one of the artists we learned about in class.  This is done by professionals as well such as the portraits above by Picasso and Matisse who showed their work to each other and were rivals and friends.  The piece is due today on Wednesday.

Museum: Matisse at the Met

The great French modernist painter Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was one of the titans of the 20th century leading the Fauves or “wild beasts”, befriending his former rival Picasso, and transforming his work into the very simplest, essential shapes and the “Matisse: In Search of True Painting” show currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art gives some wonderful insight into his work and development.  The New York Times art critic Roberta Smith praised the show because it is "one of the most thrillingly instructive exhibitions about this painter, or painting in general, that you may ever see" and I fully agree which is why I strongly recommend all of my students who are interested in painting see the show before it closes on March 17.  Matisse had a photographer come to the studio and take photographs of his paintings in process along with the models he was drawing from at points so getting to see the master at work step by step is really informative so don't miss out!

AP Art: Reinterpreting Historic Subject Matter

In AP Art this week we will be exploring subject matter and themes in art history that has been interpreted by a number of different well known artists.  Religious and mythical subjects like Madonna and Child and the Birth of Venus have been regular subject for hundreds of years but even in modern times Picasso reinterpreted Matisse as well as Lichtenstein had his version of an abstract expressionist painting.  This week each student will be asked to choose a subject that artists have explored and to create their own interpretation of it and in doing so you may change the context of the original in order to create new meaning.