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amvisionsMelissaWhalen



Both videos, Empire in Signs and the Age of Anxiety, engaged many ideas about America, Art and myself. The art world has undergone many changes within the last century and is still continuing to change. Empire in Signs video began with Abstract Expressionism and finished with Andy Warhol. It is interesting to see how in such a short time, art styles have changed. Jackson Pollock's theory was to "be in the painting" and wanted to have a influential surface that you could touch. One of his goals was to link nature and man through his work. In contrast, Andy Warhol's focus was on American glut and celebrity icons. This indicates how focused Americans are to a lavish lifestyle filled with gluttony and how self-absorbed we can be as humans. Warhol was mesmerized by death and focused a lot on celebrity deaths such as Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley. He used color as a way of drawing attention to his work. Now, in today's art world, art has become more involved. It is no longer just a painting that you hang for display. Art is becoming more interactive and engages the viewer kinesthetically. This is interesting because it helps the viewer understand what is being conveyed because they actually get to experience the piece. For example, James Terrell's "Room of Air". You can go into the room and watch the sky. There is no object or image for you to look at. Instead the view is engaged by a self reflection of what you're seeing up above.

America has been impacted by the changing art world as well. For example, the American flag is an abstraction and it is the most recognized symbol in the world. Also, the artists come from different backgrounds and ethnicities. These artists chose to come to America to pursue their dreams of creating art freely. This diversity shows how America truely is the great big melting pot of the world. In the Empire in Signs video, the concept that Americans have a fixation on landscape was brought up. This fixation on landscape is due to the fact that Americans can identify with the landscape. Each area of the country has a different topigraphical landscape, but all Americans can readily recognize and identify with each region of the country in some way. An example of art where the landscape has been influential to them is Susan Rothenberg. Rothenberg lives in Arizona. Her choice of colors help indicate where she lives because she enjoys using natural colors of red's and yellow. Also, she focuses on painting horses in varying states which also could be relevant to the area in which she lives.

Art has impacted my life in many ways. As a little girl, I've always enjoyed art. My parents have always called me their "little artist". Additionally, I've always known that I would go into art once I "grew up". I remember going through downtown Grand Rapids as a girl and driving past Kendall College of Art and Design. I was fascinated and told my parents that I was going to go to college there one day to become an artist. Times have changed since that experience, and although I am not going to college at Kendall, I am still studying art. But, the question that should be asked is why? Why am I so attracted to art? What makes art so special to me? Growing up, I was attracted to art because it was a way for me to escape. I could dive in to a drawing or a painting and forget about anything that was bothering me; and by the time I finished my artwork, I had already felt better or had already forgetten what happened. Today, I do not have time to art personally, such as painting ceramics or creating pieces on my own. I think that I am so attracted to art because of the emotions and reactions that you can create. Everyone has different interpretations of what art work is and how it should be conveyed that their really isn't a set guideline for what is art or what isn't art. For example, the crater by James Terrell. The question raised is- Is it Art? Experiencing the crater is definately an interactive experience and it took a lot of planning and perfection to make the piece work, but how does it relate to art? My thoughts are that this piece is considered art, the same way that Goya, Da Vinci, Durer, Picasso, and Kandinsky are artists. Art does not have to be confined to a canvas or paper. What makes art special is how the viewer interprets and understands the art work that you have created. No matter whether it is a painting, drawing, installation or a giant crater on earth.

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