[dimlyFourOwls]

Originally Posted by HappyCrafter

Britannica.com tells us this about art:

Art, also called (to distinguish it from other art forms) visual art, a visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination. The term art encompasses diverse media such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, decorative arts, photography, and installation.

THAT said, here is my contribution to our "Art Appreciation Thread" for today:

HappyCrafter, I'm really into art photography (color and black and white), and I do some photography myself. I don't paint or draw but I do feel I have a certain knack with the camera! . I started in high school and fell in love with the medium. We actually had to unroll our film manually and do the whole shebang in a darkroom in the class--one of my favorite experiences in high school. If you're into craftwork and working with your hands and eyes, I highly recommend finding a community darkroom if you ever get the inclination. I know they have them at schools but I haven't looked around otherwise much myself, so I'm not familiar with public use policy. Be forewarned: With the film and tools, it can get a bit pricey. You might be able to sign up for a course at a community college, if your schedule allows it (talking to everyone now).

I've moved on to digital photography as it's a little easier and cheaper (ignoring the initial investment of a digital SLR camera and possibly addon lenses). I'm really into macro shots lately.

[dimlyFourOwls]

Originally Posted by Quarter life

More Beautiful Rothko

What beautiful hues of gold!

[dimlyFourOwls]

Hi everyone. Just a reminder, that I realize I forgot to initially add, that we should all be supportive or at least tolerant of others' tastes. Please do contact a moderator if the trigger warning tool is not used correctly, as I am not a moderator and am not on here frequently. That said, thoughtful discussion is encouraged and I must say that understanding why something appeals to someone can be a pleasant experience, even if it doesn't appeal to you. I think it's all about understanding. That said, if you want to say you don't like something, at least be polite about it!

Not calling anyone out here! Just wanted to set some ground rules.

Best Wishes,

dfo

[Quarter life]

Indeed dimlyFourOwls

Everyone has their own idea of what 'art' means to them...that is what is so fabulous about 'Art'.

One can appreciate a beautiful thing without understanding it...just as one can understand a thing without finding it beautiful.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by dimlyFourOwls

Hi everyone. Just a reminder, that I realize I forgot to initially add, that we should all be supportive or at least tolerant of others' tastes. Please do contact a moderator if the trigger warning tool is not used correctly, as I am not a moderator and am not on here frequently. That said, thoughtful discussion is encouraged and I must say that understanding why something appeals to someone can be a pleasant experience, even if it doesn't appeal to you. I think it's all about understanding. That said, if you want to say you don't like something, at least be polite about it!

Not calling anyone out here! Just wanted to set some ground rules.

Best Wishes,

dfo

I'm glad you've posted this. I would like to add that if there's an artist, art piece, or concept you don't understand or would like to learn more about please google the artist so you can learn more about the person, their art, the school of art and the history of it, and so on. Something I absolutely cherish about art is that it calls upon us to expand our world.

[happysobercrafter]

Isn't this inviting and lovely? I think it is a patio somewhere in Europe.

[happysobercrafter]

Originally Posted by dimlyFourOwls

HappyCrafter, I'm really into art photography (color and black and white), and I do some photography myself. I don't paint or draw but I do feel I have a certain knack with the camera! . I started in high school and fell in love with the medium. We actually had to unroll our film manually and do the whole shebang in a darkroom in the class--one of my favorite experiences in high school. If you're into craftwork and working with your hands and eyes, I highly recommend finding a community darkroom if you ever get the inclination. I know they have them at schools but I haven't looked around otherwise much myself, so I'm not familiar with public use policy. Be forewarned: With the film and tools, it can get a bit pricey. You might be able to sign up for a course at a community college, if your schedule allows it (talking to everyone now).

I've moved on to digital photography as it's a little easier and cheaper (ignoring the initial investment of a digital SLR camera and possibly addon lenses). I'm really into macro shots lately.

Macro shots!! I love those, you can see the details so vividly! I am a visual learner so pictures are important in my life. I too am into digital photography, I love taking pictures and seeing my friend's pictures also. I am in school and am taking any art history classes I can. My focus is on improving my writing skills but I love the art classes.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by dimlyFourOwls

It's an abstract piece. They always look way better in real life. It's about color, form--the fundamentals of art distilled down to an abstract form. Some people prefer it, some don't.

Rothko's art is also about absence...kind-of, the negative space that exists within all that "is".

[seeker33]

I hope the link works. This is by a painter Alfons Mucha from Czechoslovakia. The style is called secession.

Sorry, I can't post a picture here. I'm copying the link between the IMG codes in brackets but it doesn't work. Maybe because I'm on mobile

[happysobercrafter]

It works! I clicked on the image icon and got directed to the lovely Four Seasons by Alfons Mucha. That is art noveau?

[seeker33]

[QUOTE=HappyCrafter;6193996]It works! I clicked on the image icon and got directed to the lovely Four Seasons by Alfons Mucha. That is art noveau?[/QUOTE

Yes, it is. I didn't know Art Noveau and secession were terms used for the same style. I've just learned that from wiki. His main work was to capture the history of Slavic nations. Fun fact: the goddes of Spring is called Vesna which is my real name :-)

[happysobercrafter]

[QUOTE=seeker33;6194018]

Originally Posted by HappyCrafter

It works! I clicked on the image icon and got directed to the lovely Four Seasons by Alfons Mucha. That is art noveau?[/QUOTE

Yes, it is. I didn't know Art Noveau and secession were terms used for the same style. I've just learned that from wiki. His main work was to capture the history of Slavic nations. Fun fact: the goddes of Spring is called Vesna which is my real name :-)

How cool is that?

[happysobercrafter]

Wikipedia tells us this:
Charles Frederick Worth (13 October 1825 – 10 March 1895) was an English fashion designer who founded the House of Worth, one of the foremost fashion houses of the 19th and early 20th centuries. He is considered by many fashion historians to be the father of haute couture.[3][4] Worth is also credited with revolutionising the business of fashion.

Established in Paris in 1858, his fashion salon soon attracted European royalty, and where they led monied society followed. An innovative designer, he adapted 19th-century dress to make it more suited to everyday life, with some changes said to be at the request of his most prestigious client Empress Eugénie. He was the first to use live models in order to promote his garments to clients, and to sew branded labels into his clothing; almost all clients visited his salon for a consultation and fitting – thereby turning the House of Worth into a society meeting point. By the end of his career, his fashion house employed 1,200 people and its impact on fashion taste was far-reaching. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has said that his "aggressive self-promotion" earned him the title of the first couturier. Certainly, by the 1870s, his name was not just known in court circles, but appeared in women's magazines that were read by wide society.[5]

Worth raised the status of dressmaking so that the designer-maker also became arbiter of what women should be wearing. Writing on the history of fashion and, in particular, dandyism, in 2002, George Walden said: "Charles Frederick Worth dictated fashion in France a century and a half before Galliano".[6]

I love copying and pasting information from a website and my grammar and spelling checks find errors, LOLOL

Anyway, this is one of the dresses he designed. Easily a work of art in my book!

[*Laurie*]

That gown is just gorgeous.

It's interesting to me that so very many of the great artists had mental illnesses. Kay Redfield Jamison has eloquently written on the subject.

[happysobercrafter]

Well, I know that I love to turn to my crafts and put something together that is uniquely my creation and nothing like it exists. Ok, that might be stretching that a bit, LOL but, I do love what I make. It makes me feel better when I make something by hand I can actually use.

I am going to look up the author you mentioned.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by HappyCrafter

Well, I know that I love to turn to my crafts and put something together that is uniquely my creation and nothing like it exists. Ok, that might be stretching that a bit, LOL but, I do love what I make. It makes me feel better when I make something by hand I can actually use.

I am going to look up the author you mentioned.

Creating is wonderful!
Kay Redfield Jamison is a terrific writer. She's a professor at a notable university...Harvard? or?? She's written several books, but the book I found most intriguing was Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament.

[Quarter life]

Thanks for the recommendation of 'Touched With Fire' Laurie. Brings to mind another magnificent novelist William Styron who won a Pulitzer Prize for 'The Confessions of Nat Turner' and wrote 'Sophie’s Choice'.

A Memoir of his ‘Darkness Visible’ is a record of his descent into depression and the triumph of recovery….Absolutely riveting reading, and ever so beautifully constructed by one of the modern masters of the written word.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by Quarter life

Thanks for the recommendation of 'Touched With Fire' Laurie. Brings to mind another magnificent novelist William Styron who won a Pulitzer Prize for 'The Confessions of Nat Turner' and wrote 'Sophie’s Choice'.

A Memoir of his ‘Darkness Visible’ is a record of his descent into depression and the triumph of recovery….Absolutely riveting reading, and ever so beautifully constructed by one of the modern masters of the written word.

Yes. William Styron was a brilliant author. Darkness Visible is a must-read for anyone with mental illness.

[happysobercrafter]

[dimlyFourOwls]

I'm so glad to see you guys are actually interested!

Thanks for the great posts, discussion and art alike.

[*Laurie*]

Originally Posted by dimlyFourOwls

I'm so glad to see you guys are actually interested!

Thanks for the great posts, discussion and art alike.

Thank you for starting such a wonderful thread!

[Medusax]

I love ALL forms of art. My favorite Impressionist painting is Starry Night by Van Gogh

[Quarter life]

One of my top 5 favourites. Franz Marc… one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement. There is much to be found online about his bittersweet short life.

[dimlyFourOwls]

"Best Street Photography" in black and white, 3 years old

[Quarter life]

Thanks FourOwls...Spectacular