Media Arts: History & Theory

We have all seen abstract art, in one way or another. While everyone may have slightly different variations of the actual definition, they all center around the same idea: abstract art is an emotional way to journey into the artist’s soul, and is often up to interpretation. Abstract art is a more controlled, geometric style that uses plain, simple colors to evoke feelings and responses in the viewers. It is about as far from realism as an artist can get.  In class, we were given the opportunity to create our own works of abstract art. Using a large paper, markers, and crayons we came up with our own piece of abstract artwork. We titled it “DISCONNECTION”. It is representative of how we, especially during this time of our lives, feel disconnected from ourselves. It is meant to convey a certain distance or breakaway of the mind from the body. Often we feel as if we are merely going through the motions, and are not fully there in our mind. The sporadic blocks of color, paired with the...

Whenever it comes to new discoveries or techniques in the art world, we normally have the risk takers to thank. And that does remain true (even to this day), however technological advances, such as those during the Industrial Revolution, have also contributed. After the industrial revolution, artists started moving further away from Alberti’s treatises and started experimenting with new subjects. They started painting more from their imaginations and dreams. Avant-garde became popular, which essentially meant that anything new and exciting was welcomed by artists. They took this concept and ran with it, paving the way for so many new art styles to be created and gain popularity.   Modernism was one of these new styles. It allowed for artists to paint from their subconsciousness and feel free to experiment. Impressionism came after modernism, and gave way for artists like Monet and Renoir. The era was defined by plein air paintings done outside with the use of easels. Afterwards, st...

The Renaissance saw many changes to artistic style throughout its time. While talking about these changes, we were asked to identify some specific differences between early and late renaissance paintings. A most notable change was seen in how the figures were positioned. Their movements were very stiff and posed in the early renaissance. However, during the late renaissance the figures seemed to almost be in motion, with twisted figures and expressional bodies. Another noticeable difference was the accuracy of the paintings, meaning how real they looked. The scenes pictured in the later renaissance were much more realistic looking, while the early renaissance ones were less real looking, with flat backgrounds and slightly warped figures.  Many of the changes in artistic style can be attributed to the popularity of humanism and realism. Humanism shifted artists' focus to the people, taking power away from the church. They were focusing more on humans themselves. Then when realism ca...

The Renaissance was one of the biggest turning points in art history. It was during the Renaissance that rich, wealthy families (like the Medici family), started funding artists. Art had become the hot new thing, so to invest in it and have your name on it made the patrons look good. Artists were becoming the celebrities of their time. More and more attention was being taken away from the church and instead was focused into the arts. The printing press was a contributing factor in this, but so was the idea of humanism. Humanism puts more focus on the importance of human beings, rather than divine, religious matters.  The style of art and paintings changed heavily throughout the Renaissance. Before, with Byzantine art, the paintings were centered around religious messages, used a lot of gold in the images, and were not concerned with making their figures realistic. Artists moved away from this during the Renaissance. Early Renaissance painters, like Giotto, used a technique called f...

One of the discussions we have about the theater centered around what determines the difference between a musical and an opera. More specifically, if the Phantom of the Opera was a musical or not. First off we talked about the differences between operas and musicals. There were actually a few I did not know. I was not aware of the fact that opera doesn’t allow for the use of microphones whereas musicals rely on the use of microphones. I also didn’t know that operas prioritize music over the story, whereas musicals prioritize the story over the music. Keeping those in mind, I think it is safe to say that the Phantom of the Opera is a musical. More specifically, it is a musical about an opera, but not an opera.  GRQs 1) Greeks 2) Homer 3) the Ill iad / Trojan War 4) areté 5) Homeric epic 6) Ill iad / Odyssey 7) gods 8) inductive reasoning 9) Socrates 10) Plato 11) The Republic 12) the Allegory of the Cave 13) Dionysos 14) the satyr play 15) Greek comedies 16) Tragedies 17) death /...

Following the rise of baroque architecture, baroque theater started becoming popular. Out of baroque theater came opera. Opera was a highly popular form of entertainment. It was sophisticated and was a new way of conveying stories. Fashioned with elaborate costumes and sets, opera singers would sing and project their voices without the use of microphones. Young choir boys were best at hitting and holding the high notes. Poorer families would offer up their young sons to become choir singers. If they were good enough the choir boys could become celebrities. Many who chased this fame would get castrated so that they could continue to hit the high notes as they got older. It may seem bizarre, this idea of people damaging and altering their bodies for the sake of fame and fortune, but it actually has not gone away even nowadays. Even now, in the 21st century, we see people all over social media and in the news using plastic surgery and steroids to “enhance” themselves and make themselves b...

Grace Gilmore, Quiz 1 1. Animism 2. storytelling 3. teepees 4. Greeks 5. the Illiad and the Odessey 6. Illiad 7. Homeric epic, the Illiad 8. Socrates 9. Allegory of the Cave 10. skene 11. Theatre of Dionysis 12. satyr play 13. protagonist, antagonist 14. Golden Mean 15. neoclassical ideal 16. Romans 17. pendentive 18. Gothic Cathedral 19. Baroque 20. orchestra pit 21. operas 22. opera 23. Akhnaten 24. Wagner

In class we talked about a lot of different topics. One thing in particular that we discussed was the idea of desensitization in media. Starting all the way back during the time of the Roman Empire, people have been enjoying things that we should find disturbing. Back when the Circus Maximus and Colosseum were actively being used the Romans were constantly being exposed to violence and was a part of their everyday life. They effectively became desensitized to it and would see no problem with the senseless carnage being displayed before them. The argument nowadays is that videogames are doing essentially the same thing. Kids play these first person shooter games that put them in positions to inflict bloody harm upon others but with no actual affect in the real world. Our group came to the conclusion that yes, while videogames are desensitizing people, it won’t ever get as bad as during the Roman times. They aren’t seeing it in real life, but it is real enough that people will be able to...

Throughout the last couple classes we talked a lot about native american storytelling and different types of architecture.  Storytelling was an important part of Native American culture. Their ways of telling stories would be very in touch with nature, often more spiritual. It was more performative, and preserved their culture. Everybody could get involved, which fueled the stories with more passion. Native Americans had a very raw, personal way of sharing stories. Unfortunately, nowadays we don’t see that type of passion and emotion in stories. Musicals like The Lion King are one of the few ways we can still Native Americans storytelling influence in action today.  Architecture has changed so much over the centuries and has affected how we tell stories over the years. Ancient Greece set the scene with their impressive feats and engineering. They made the Amphitheater, a technologically advanced stage that separated the actor and the audience. The Greeks also introduced the ...