Term 3 Week 1 & 2, 2011

They're mad, bad and dangerous to know.
That's how one art critic described two of the three artists we deal with in this topic.

Expressionism is all about getting down and dirty with your feelings and portraying them through the magic medium of paint.
These guys are what's known as Neo Expressionists - a combination of emotional paint work with a good dose of rational planning to make the work readable.
One central painter in the background was Rudi Gopas, an Art Teacher at Ilam, who expounded the theories of European Expressionism.
He brought this new style to the NZ public with lashings of thick brush marks and swathes of yellow and purple paint..
Other artist models who make a huge impact on these men are:
Francisco Goya (don't loose your head),
Vincent Van Gogh (watch that razor, mind your earrr........too late) and
Francis Bacon (fancy a sandwich?), among many, many others.

There are may threads to link the NZ Expressionist artists in this topic, death being one of them and use of self portraits, (check this out), another.
They have all considered themselves as outsiders and struggled with deeply personal issues.
All of them have benefited from study grants which gave them the chance of long spells away from NZ, traveling to see the major art collections of the world, particularly Europe and USA.
Use all of these factors when writing a context answer.

So roll on the drums please.....here are the bad boys of paint you need to know -
Philip Clairmont
Tony Fomison, and a little extra about Allen Maddox
Jeffrey Harris
Enjoy the topic and widen you world view further by learning a little more about another art movement.

In terms of housekeeping.....Academic Counselling and School Ball preparations will mean that lessons will be disrupted on Thursday 4th August and Friday 5th August. Normal service will be resumed on Monday 8th August.

Here's how we'll be rolling.......

Monday 1st -Expressionism & Clairmont.

All Happy Holiday Homework is due in.

Tuesday 2nd - Clairmont to pg 34 and Clairmont column pg 42.

Homework pg 43.

Wednesday 3rd to Friday 5th - Fomison.

Homework up to pg 38 & pg 42 Fomison column.

Monday 8th - Harris pg 39 and portraiture pg 45.

Hand in books to check notes up to date.

Tuesday 9th - Harris pg 40/41 & pg 44

Wednesday 10th - Finishing up Expressionism pg 43 and any other Q&A.

Happy Holiday Homework

Just when you thought it was safe to lie in bed and empty your heads of all that learning, there's more..

I've posted this good and early for those of you off to Malaysia, so no excuses :-)

This holiday you need to:

• Ensure all your notes are completed and well organised for NZ Abstraction
• Stick all colour pictures into EVERY chapter of your NZ workbook
• Understand the importance of Dargaville's very own Milan Mrkusich to this topic
• Complete a Style exam question, planning AND writing the answer, Albrecht v Mrkusich - see me for the hand out
• Complete pg 27 with your choice from the NZ Abstraction topic that's landscape based
• If there's any time left, start making revision cards and quote 'post it notes'

Please also ensure you're up to date on all work from Week 10&11 - see the 'housekeeping' section of that post. All work to be handed in first lesson back. Have fun :-)

Term 2 Week 10 & 11 2011

Two whole weeks to go before a holiday and there's still lots more learning ahead of us

In this topic, New Zealand abstraction is usually considered in relation to international artists and movements.

There will be references to Abstraction and Expressionism & AbEx.

You need to also know the difference between Lyrical Abstraction

(lots of simplification and expression- Jackson Pollock -try this Pollock painting, also essential viewing is the colour field artist, Mark Rothko),

and Geometric Abstraction, useful artist models include: Piet Mondrian and Kasimir Malevich.

When you get a handle on this topic, friends will be amazed at your genius and it should give you some impressive exam answers too.

What do we need to know? Abstract art is not about the figurative, (people, objects, places), more about ideas. Sometimes abstract painting is mainly about the physical act of making art, the viewer is therefore able to make their own interpretation about the work.

The influence of overseas artists in NZ is essential in this topic, plus the impact of the big O.E. and travel/ study grants make to McCahon, Hotere and Albrecht.

New Learning Alert!

What is the difference between Perceptual versus Conceptual reality?

It is essential here that you know the difference. Make sure you do.

Meantime, back at the action.......the factors for a changing NZ art scene:

During all that isolation and loneliness that the NZ landscape artists had been concentrating on, the rest of the world was speeding up with their new ideas for art.

Last week we got up close and personal with Cubism, which came 30 years late to NZ thanks to McCahon's Kauri images, and it wasn't well received. Eventually NZ got TV, colour art magazines from the USA and direct flights overseas. Progress.

You'll be relieved to know that Aotearoa did catch up, eventually.

Here are the headline artists for the topic......

Colin McCahon and last week's Iconography homework - Elias Series

Ralph Hotere and the important role he has played as a NZ Protest Artist and social commentator. You should also know the range of materials he uses and how they relate to NZ.

Gretchen Albrecht and her richly coloured abstract paintings, plus her early influences and new sculptural direction.

Housekeeping Alert!

By the end of this term we should be at the end of the NZ Abstraction chapter in our workbooks.

In terms of homework, I'll be collecting book in on Friday 8th to check McCahon/Hotere notes, up to pg 21, and Wednesday 13th to check on Albrecht work, up to & including pg 25.

There will also be an exam sample to attempt and submit, a context question on Hotere's Dawn Water Poem and some work for the holidays - see the next post for details :-)