bradchap

[bradchap]

I made the mistake of not taking a photo of myself experiencing the art but I did include a screenshot of my payment from my bank showing that I was indeed there!

My chosen work is : The Mystery of Life - 1879 ; Carl Marr, 1858-1936

This painting is oil on canvas. This work is of what I would consider to be average size; about the size of a poster from your nearest poster retailer and would fit nicely in any kitchenette or privy room. The focal point of this work is an illuminated figure of a deceased woman positioned in the center of the frame. Above her a distraught man stand clutching his forehead. This work is composed with a non-linear perspective; the vanishing point appearing to be the dimly lit dot of the moon or a star in the background. Visually the non-action of the deceased woman resigned to the bottom rectangle of the frame balances with the rocky background, moonlit night, and the anguished man are kept in the upper half rectangle. Subdued earthy tones and a rich dark blue sky surround the deceased woman; herself bathed in ghostly white glow that exaggerates her fair complexion. Her fair complexion provided further contrast with the old man's darkened skin. This contrast is used to great affect when the story behind this painting is revealed. The anguished man, is a representation of a sinner, who, having cursed Jesus, was damned to live an eternal life. The fair woman, appears to be young and angelic, revealing the tragedy of her fate and therein the cruelty of this man's eternal suffering.

This work has stood out to me for as long as I have known of it. I've been a life long regular of John Ringling's museum and recall seeing this painting when I was barely weened off of training wheels on my bike. I am not religious. My family was never the church going type and I myself have lived firmly in the secular world. To me there is nothing after death. Which itself is a horror of incomprehensible measure. Seeing this painting truly makes me contemplate my mortality. Perhaps death is not a curse but a blessing? Life is good for me and I have no intentions of making it any shorter. However, perhaps death should be seen as a part of life and not a finality to it?

The artist, Carl Von Marr, was an American born German artist. Marr apprenticed in the US before immigrating to his family's country of heritage, Germany. There, Marr was part of the prolific " German Realist" movement; a style that eschews expressionism in favor of depicting reality in an unrelentingly accurate way. Marr's other works depict people and places as the would exist in reality without adding to the drama or flair. Marr in his later life was appointed as a director to The Royal Academy; an institution that he had studied under prior to him immigration to Germany. Another of his notable works " Flagellants" carries a common religious theme to my selected work and is used to show the importance of religious devotion. " Flagellants" depicts yet again the pure and holy devotees as pale and fair skinned; each shirtless figure has outstretched arms in exaltation and one figure is seen lacerating himself in penance/ praise. I believe that Marr was a pious man, having depicted two striking religious works. One showing the consequences of sin and the other showing those cleansing themselves of sin. Much like the murals of grand chapels of the renaissance era, I believe Marr to have painted these to tell important stories within the greater Christian culture.

Personally, I chose Marr's work for the way it challenges my perception of mortality. The curse upon the man depicted is to me a blessing. Immortality would be a gift.

Why I feel that this work is culturally important is another story. I am not religious therefore the message of this work is lost on me entirely. What is important to me is the relative modernity of this work. This is not some piece that has survived 600 years to be viewed by a modern audience. This work has echoes of those style of antiquity, but is recognizably modern. These echoes seen in this work go to show you that the innovations of painting in the Renaissance and the Baroque periods were not just some fad of the times but have become a standard of this style of work.

[bradchap]

Virtual Sketchbook # 2 - 4

Group 3 Photography.

Portrait. Self portrait of Yousef Karsh. I chose Yousef Karsh in particular because he is considered to be a master of portraiture. Seriously, look up his portraits. You will see some familiar faces at their most iconic. Karsh was very particular when taking a portrait and strived to catch not just the image pf the subject but their personality. His portraits seem to elevate their subject's personality. This self portrait shows Karsh's intense focus, his intimacy with the camera, and his attention to catching the perfect moment.

Landscape: Below is a landscape of Namib - Naukluft National Park taken by photographer Frank Kramer. At first glance this phot appears to be a painting. When you look at this phot a bit closer you see that the photographer captured a scene resting within the shadow of the sand dune behind him. Past the trees the background dune is lit up by the intense sunlight, revealing the parched arid sands and scrub

Still life: This phot is a still life capture of a stationary UPS delivery Truck, t's driver off delivering packages while somewhere a wildfire is raging. The ash and smoke in the air attributing it's hellish red hue to the world surrounding. This photo was taken during the Oregon wildfires of 2020. I think this photographer wanted to capture this moment of pure horror contrasted with the mundanity of every day life. I am reminded of a quote by Slavoj Zizek " It's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism"

[bradchap]

Virtual Sketchbook # 2 - 3

[bradchap]

Virtual Sketchbook # 2 - 2

An experience with color that will always stick with me is when I flew to visit my family in upstate NY. It was late September and I had just boarded my flight leaving Tampa. I recall the take off and seeing a world of green foliage to my right and cool blue water to my left. After takeoff the view of the world below was obscured by clouds. Then as we descended through the clouds I saw it. The world below me was ablaze with the colors of the changing leaves. The trees as far as I could see were rich hues of orange, yellow, and red. Growing up my whole life in Florida I was only accustomed to seeing green. I had seen the autumn colors in photos and video but what I saw that day descending into the vibrant colors of Rochester NY was something I would've never been prepared for.

If I were to choose a color scheme for my life it would probably be the dreaded " Millennial Gray." Not only is this very easy for me to look at but the utility of it cannot be understated. Cool white, gray, and black tones are very easy to decorate and color coordinate.

[bradchap]

Virtual Sketchbook # 2 - 1

Unity is when the overall work has components that contribute to a a central "feeling" or "theme". I see this in a painting hung up on my office of a beach scene. The depiction of sand, sea oats, and sea give an overall feeling of "beachiness"

Variety is when the work has varying components that contribute visual complexity. I wear a sweater that has different illustrations of seafood like sardines, oysters, crabs, octopus, etc.

Balance is how components of a work are distributed. My boss drive an Aston Martin that was designed using the rule of 3rds.

Emphasis is how an artist draws the focus of a viewer to an particular component. The bold red and yellow colors of the McDonalds sign always catches the eye.

Subordination is used to not create a distraction using certain components. The landscaping around a Mcdonalds is curated in a way that allows you to only see the McDonalds.

Directional forces are the implied motion of the subject of the work or a technique to draw the viewer's attention to a certain area of the work. The Jaguar hood ornament appears to have a forward momentum.

Repetition is the repeated use of a certain component. There is repetition in the pattern of flannel.

Rhythm is how repeated element's and components flow. Rhythm is in shown in the lines/ markings of the roadway help guide traffic.

Scale is used in a work to create depth of a 3D space.

Proportion is the contrast or comparison of size between elements of a work.

[bradchap]

Virtual Sketchbook # 1 - 3

[bradchap]

Virtual Sketchbook # 1 - 2

I am 28 years old. I am male (he/ him). I am from Sarasota Florida; born and raised and current residing. I am white/ Caucasian; my father's side of the family being predominantly English descent and my mother's side being of Germanic and Slavic descent. For fun I love to cook and share meals with my significant other or my family. I love to spend time outside either leisurely hiking or laboring away in the garden. I love finding new music to listen to and I love to go see live shows and experience music in person. I am not part of any organized group or club but I am very active on many of my hobby's subreddits. I work as a property adjuster for a local insurance company. I am not too passionate about my job. As for what makes me unique, I am fairly knowledgeable about many things. I have been told by my friends and family that I am like an encyclopedia and I seem to do really well with trivia nights at the bar.

[bradchap]

Virtual Sketchbook # 1 - 1

Miniature copy of Michelangelo's " Statue of David."

I actually do not have a photo of the copy I am referencing. Turns out my mother decided to move the statue to storage just prior to my posting. Growing up we always had this 2 foot tall concrete miniature statue up somewhere in my home. While this statue has been purely decorative, I recall a few times us using it as a door stop. I have no idea how long we've had the statue. My mother probably purchased it years before my brother and I were born. I do find the statue to be beautiful but it's mundane beauty to me. It's just been there. I've seen it for 28 years of my life. I think I've seen it so many times that if I were to ever see the original statue in Florence Italy it would probably be rather underwhelming.