There's already a thread discussing what makes art good/bad. I thought a thread where we share some of our most loved pieces of art would be enjoyable.
I love Norman Rockwell, and I think this piece was a very brave and deft expression of something true in the society he lived in. I don't think I've ever seen another picture that depicts the evil of racism so masterfully.
[ March 28, 2007, 02:36 PM: Message edited by: BlackBlade ]
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
I love the splattered tomato. Gosh. Understatement is so undervalued.
Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
I love most of the art of MC Escher, but especially Puddle.
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
Karl: I like that picture alot, I am sure it was VERY difficult to get right.
Annie: That's probably my favorite depiction of Christ walking on the waves. Its hard for me to explain but I like in a way pictures that do not focus on what Christ looked like, and portray more of what he did. I think the gospels treat the subject very much in that way.
edit: Thanks for relinking aspectre I was not aware my link was forbidden on some servers.
Posted by Lisa (Member # 8384) on :
The Floating Ice by Claude Monet This is a lesser known Monet. Years ago a traveling Monet exhibit came to Chicago and I just couldn't take my eyes off this. I love the colors.
The Piping Boy by Nathaniel Hone (You have to scroll down and click on it to see it bigger. It's the one at the bottom right corner.) I saw this when I was in Dublin. Seeing it on the computer doesn't do it justice. The boy's eyes are so intense and blue in person, it feels like he's watching you.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Oh, Luet, that reminded me of my favorite Dali - Elephants. I own it as a poster print and it used to freak out my roommate. But it's so fascinating! Posted by Luet13 (Member # 9274) on :
Yeah, Elephants is pretty darn creepy. Those skinny legs make me shudder for some reason.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Did Annie's T-shirts make anybody else think of Sean Connery in celebrity jeopardy?
Lisa: I really enjoyed Bryan Larsen's "New Year's Eve," and some of Han Wu Shen's paintings seriously look like photographs.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I'll take swords for 500, Alex.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
I absolutely love this painting. A poster of it is in my bedroom, and it jump-started my current combination obsession.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Ooh. I like it, Kat. With what combination are you obsesed?
My favorite Renaissance piece is Raphael's Madonna of the Meadow.
Posted by katharina (Member # 827) on :
It is the colors of my living room, most of my paintings, the defunct wedding reception...just about everything. I keep thinking that if I can overload on it, I'll get over it, like when I was obsessed with "Hey Ya!". It's not working though - I still love it.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
(not that Kat's is a Renaissance - it just sparked the Renaissance in my brain)
And my favorite American artist is Lilly Martin Spencer. I wrote a paper once comparing her to Mary Englebreit. Here's some good ones:
(edited--yes, I know how to count to three!)
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
I like your style of obsession, sistah.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
Here's a couple I really loved when my wife and I went to the Fogg Museum at Harvard on our pseudo-vacation in January ("pseudo" since I live one T stop from Harvard Square).
Seated Bather by Renoir. In person this piece is so brilliant IMO. The girl looks very realistic, but the background is not. Technically cool, and also neat to interpret, if you like.
No. 2 by Pollock. A crappy picture of it, under very neutral lighting. The piece itself is 8 feet by 3 feet, approximately, and when I look at it, it has a very cool 3D effect, like I could fall into it.
If you like Italian Renaissance art, The Stewart Gardner museum in Boston is the one to go to. I found it a bit too much for me though.
-Bok
Posted by vonk (Member # 9027) on :
Everything by HR Giger, especially this one.
Posted by Loren (Member # 9539) on :
quote:If you like Italian Renaissance art, The Stewart Gardner museum in Boston is the one to go to.
I don't know--the Galleria degli Uffizi is pretty good, too.
Actually, the Italian Renaissance has been my favorite period for a while, but I'm starting to be won over to Baroque and Mannerist art. And my mother, a staunch Impressionist, hasn't converted me yet, but I do have to say I really enjoyed my most recent trip to the Art Institute of Chicago and its collection.
Also, I'm trying to convince myself to fork over the bucks for a small replica of Canova's Cupid and Psyche.
Posted by Qaz (Member # 10298) on :
quote:Originally posted by vonk: Everything by HR Giger, especially this one.
I admire Giger's craftmanship and imagination, but most of his work freaks me out too much to actually consider hanging it in my home, (except maybe in a secret room behind a red velvet curtain.)
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
quote:Originally posted by Loren:
quote:If you like Italian Renaissance art, The Stewart Gardner museum in Boston is the one to go to.
I don't know--the Galleria degli Uffizi is pretty good, too.
No doubt, but I was more putting it out there for the less cosmopolitan among us (like me). The woman decorated 3-4 floors of her house with mostly renaissance art, from floor to ceiling (and an italian courtyard in the center!). She also put in her will that nothing was to be changed about the way the art was displayed, so it is chock full.
-Bok
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
I also like this guy. I have several of his pieces, including a portrait he did of me... as a Muppet.
Then again, he is a friend of mine.
-Bok
Posted by Stray (Member # 4056) on :
I love Mark Jenkins's street art, especially the cellophane people.
Posted by Loren (Member # 9539) on :
quote:No doubt, but I was more putting it out there for the less cosmopolitan among us (like me). The woman decorated 3-4 floors of her house with mostly renaissance art, from floor to ceiling (and an italian courtyard in the center!). She also put in her will that nothing was to be changed about the way the art was displayed, so it is chock full.
See, ironically, I've been to Florence five or six times, while I've never been to Boston. So, for me, Boston is the exotic place. But yeah, that sounds like a cool museum; when I make it to Boston I'll have to check it out.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
Oh, I really like that guy's work, Bok. Especially the "Fish out of Water" series.
Posted by Bokonon (Member # 480) on :
"Fish out of Water" was awesome. It was displayed in a local cafe in Salem, MA last September (the cafe displays 13 pieces from different artists, for a month at a time). The pieces were a nice size.
The Prospector is my favorite, looking back at them.
The Kiss by Auguste Rodin and this one, Nike...not by Rodin
[ March 29, 2007, 11:01 AM: Message edited by: fiddle_stix ]
Posted by BlackBlade (Member # 8376) on :
I like that first one alot JumboWumbo. It just feels right in my mind.
Posted by Euripides (Member # 9315) on :
Being typical here, but Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie houses, and of course Falling Water. The Marin County Civic Centre is also one of my favourites, but frankly I love all of his buildings.
Because architects are artists too.
Wright's stained glass patterns are works of art themselves.
Tadao Ando is also great; again being typical for an architecture student. Annie, have you been here? (I still haven't, unfortunately)
Posted by The Pixiest (Member # 1863) on :
I like Francisco Goya. His paintings are real(ish) and horrible. They pull dark emotions out of me in a way that elephants on stilts just can't.
Wow, those are beautiful! Thanks for the links!
Posted by aiua (Member # 7825) on :
In addition to Dali and Escher, Magritte is one of my favorites, especially this one with trees.
I got back from Tanzania yesterday and was thinking about this picture all during the trip. I know, it'll never hang in a museum, but I like it all the same. Also from DeviantArt, is this. His style makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Posted by Kama (Member # 3022) on :
The look on Harrison Ford's face in the third link is hilarious! Thanks LW.
Posted by Dragon (Member # 3670) on :
I can't remember what I was looking for when I stumbled across this site a few years ago, but this is one of my favorites.
Posted by SC Carver (Member # 8173) on :
quote:Originally posted by The Pixiest: I like Francisco Goya. His paintings are real(ish) and horrible. They pull dark emotions out of me in a way that elephants on stilts just can't.
I got to see some of these in person at the Prado in Madrid a few years ago. They are very impressive in person. Like all art they really need to be seen in person to appreciate all the subtleties. Dark painting just do not come across well in photos.
I got to see the Van Gogh exhibit in Washington DC a when they were remodeling the Van Gough museum. I was shocked to see how much brighter and how much more detail there was in this painting than all the reproductions I had studied. Still not my favorite dark painting by VG. I don't think he was making statment about smoking in 1885.
Always loved De Gas's pastels They just seem to shimmer in person.
Monet had lots of good work. Love his series of the cathedrals
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The look on Harrison Ford's face in the third link is hilarious! Thanks LW.