Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy

Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (1895-1946).  One of the great photographers and graphic designers (including typographical designs) of the Bauhaus movement.

I highly recommend checking out graphic design images (especially posters) from the Bauhaus era.  Many of them are incredible and definitely have inspired what may still be called radical design today.  Especially in terms of typography.  Also look at Constructivist Design.
(Constructivism came right after the Bauhaus movement...it's easy to see why.  It definitely vibed off of the Bauhaus movement.  Lots of black and white and red and gray.  Mayhaps a post on this soon.).

To see more work from Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (and some of the images he used for inspiration), please visit my Flickr page HERE.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Egon Schiele

Egon Schiele (1890-1918).  Student to Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele shares similarities in style to his mentor.  In fact, sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the two's work.  One large difference, however, is that Schiele's work often depicts grotesque and erotic figures.  The vast majority of his studies are nudes, and then, women.  In viewing his work, one cannot help but feel that "something is not quite right" with the figures he depicts.  Perhaps it is because they all evoke pain and mystery, and discomfort.  Yet, they are stunningly beautiful.  Klimt and Schiele are definitely two of my very favorite artists.

Portrait of the Painter Zakovsek, 1910
Russian Prisoner of War, 1916
Portrait of the Artist's Wife, Seated, 1917
Reclining Woman with Green Stocking, 1917
Portrait of the Painter Paris von Gütersloh, 1918
Girl in a Plaid Garment, 1909
Portrait of the Aritst's Wife, Standing, 1915
Self-Portrait, 1913

To see more work from Egon Schiele, please visit my Flickr page HERE.

Gustav Klimt

Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).  Brilliant with figures and known for his incredible textured patterns and use of gold-leaf.  Teacher and mentor of Egon Schiele.

 Hope II (Vision; Fertility; Legend), 1907-8
 Woman with Red Hair, 1908
 Portrait of Mäda Primavesi, 1912
Standing Lady in Profile, 1908

To view more images from Gustav Klimt, please visit my Flickr page HERE.

Oskar Kokoschka

Oskar Kokoschka (1886-1980).  Extremely expressive with linework.

 Self-Portrait, Poster for "Der Sturm," 1910
 Pieta, Design for a Poster, 1918
 Reclining Woman, 1908-9
 The Lunatic Girl, 1909
Two Studies of a Nude Girl, 1907
 Figure Studies, 1907
 Portrait of a Woman, 1921-22
 Tre Croci in a Storm, 1913
Musicians in Naples, 1913

To view more images from Oskar Kokoschka, please visit my Flikr page HERE.

Käthe Kollowitz

Käthe Kollowitz (1867-1945).  Predominantly work in drawing, etching, lithography, and woodcut.  Often depicted the poor or less fortunate member of society.  Much of her work has stark contrasts between light and dark.

 Self-Portrait, 1889
 Death, 1897
 Self-Portrait and Nude Studies, 1900
 The People, 1922
Self-Portrait at a Table, 1893

To view more work by Käthe Kollowitz, please visit my Flikr page HERE.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938).  Known for his paintings and prints.  Has lots of paintings documenting Berlin, especially its nightlife (prostitutes).  He often portrays stylized figures that are tall and angular.  He had a great exhibit at the MoMA in fall of 2008 called "Kirchner and the Berlin Street" that was all about this...I highly, highly, recommend looking at this (Kirchner MoMA).  More: Kirchner MoMA 2.  In fact, I believe the CalArts Library has an exhibition catalog from "The Berlin Street" exhibit.

The book I found focuses more on Kirchner's prints and graphic work, which definitely serves as a precursor to Noir.

 Mountain Melancholy (Self-Portrait), 1928-9
 Women on the Potsdamer Platz, 1914-5
 Seated Dancer, 1914
 Fights (Peter Schlemihl), 1915
 The Cowherd, 1917
 Head of Van del Velde (Light), 1917
Humphrey Bogart, anyone?
Head of Ludwig Schames, 1918

To view more of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's work, please visit my Flickr page HERE.

Franz Marc

Franz Marc (1888-1916). A founding member of "Der Blaue Reiter" (The Blue Rider) Group, a German art movement in the early 1910s that greatly influenced Expressionist. Much of his work depicts animals in an abstracted and geometric way. He also uses gorgeous, high chroma color in his paintings. I was lucky enough to see several of his "Pferdebilder" (horse paintings) in Germany when I was in high school, and they are even more beautiful in person than in any the books I found!

 The Large Blue Horses, 1911
 The Little Yellow Horses, 1911
 The Tiger, 1912
 The Waterfall, 1912
 The Wolves (Balkan War), 1913
 Fighting Forms, 1914
(the library just put out bookmarks with a cropped image of this painting)
Animals in Landscape (Painting with Bulls II), 1914

To view more images from Franz Marc, please visit my Flikr album HERE.

And We're Back...

Back online.  Got to retrace my steps a bit.  Since there is only x amount of space that Blogger allows for photo content, I have changed my system a bit.  For each post, there will only be a few images.  The remainder of the images I have for the artists will be posted on Flickr with an attached link for further perusal.

Welcome back, Blogger, and cheers!  :)

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Temporarily Offline

This blog is temporarily offline due to changes/difficulties I am having with Blogspot.  Be back as soon as possible.  Shifts in content may occur, but I'll let you know what's up when I work it out.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Emil Nolde

Emil Nolde (1867-1956).  Emil Nolde specialized in oil and watercolor paintings but was also known for his unique use of Aquarelles, or water soluble crayons.  Like other artists of the time, he also worked with woodcuts.  His work shows poignant use of color, which was greatly influenced by his love for Vincent Van Gogh's paintings.

These books in German are a good test of my high school language learning as I attempt to translate :)

 "Dame in rotem Kleid (Woman in Red Shirt)," 1907
 "Geburtstag der Windmühle (The Windmill's Birthday)," 1918
 "Juden (Boys)"
 "Zwei junge Mädchen (Two Young Ladies)"
for some reason this reminds me of anime
(especially the figure on the left)
 "Roter Mohn (Red Poppies)"
 "Tier und Weib (Animal and Woman)"
maybe it's a monkey, but she reminds me of a mermaid
 "Jesus bei den Schriftgelehrten (Jesus by the Bible Studiers)"
 "Männerportrait (Portrait of a Man)"
 "Wabenkröten (Toads)"
 "Uraltes Paar II (Old Couple)"
literally, "ancient" couple
"Schullehrer (School Teacher)," 1896
 "Maske der Energie (Mask of Energy)," 1896
 "'Höhlenweib' Faschingsplakaat nach Kohlezeichnung von," 1896
("'Cavewoman'" Carnival Poster Drawn in Charcoal")
 "Schlittschuhläufer I (Ice Skaters I)," 1908
(literally, "snow shoe runners")
 "Schlittschuhläufer II (Ice Skaters II)," 1908
 "Tanzerin (Dancer)," 1910-1
"Maskenstilleben (Mask Still Life)," 1911

To view more work from Emil Nolde, please visit my Flikr account HERE.