Welcome!

This is my Art History 1 final exam, and thank you for your interest in my art gallery!

 Art. Simply Art 

Yucaipa, California

Lauren Simpson

This Gallery is to showcase abstract, minimal art and the powerful statement they can make and be used for. 

"An artist cannot fail; it is a success to be one." 

-Charles Horton Cooley 

"In art, the hand can never execute anything higher than the heart can imagine." 

-Ralph Waldo Emerson 

"Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known." 

-Oscar Wilde 

Art. Simply, Art.

Art. Simply, art - exhibition.

In this exhibition I have chosen artworks that exemplify abstract and beautiful simplicity in different mediums. I have chosen artwork from some of my favorite artists, such as:

Ellsworth Kelly, 

Mark Rothko, 

Barnett Newman, 

Piet Mondrian, 

Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich, 

Edward Weston, Nude, 

Jean (Hans) ARP,

Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich, 

Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich,

Josef Albers, 

Georgia O'Keeffe.

These artists come from many different backgrounds, eras and styles but they all have at least one piece of art that is in common with each other. They all at one point in their career made a statement by using a simple shape, negative and minimal color variations. I chose these pieces after looking at the ones I am drawn to, I like simple art, and art that makes you think - which is how I assembled these artists together. I hope you enjoy! 

Ellsworth Kelly, Red Blue Green, 1963, Oil on Canvas 6' 11 5/8" X 11' 3 7/8"

        Red Blue Green, 1963, Oil on Canvas 6' 11 5/8" X 11' 3 7/8"
                -Ellsworth Kelly

Ellsworth Kelly (May 31, 1923 – present day) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker associated with hard-edge painting.  His work demonstrates unassuming techniques emphasizing simplicity of for, he often uses bright colors. One variant he uses is the hard-edge painting of Post-Painterly Abstraction. He used delineated areas of color to distill painting with razor-sharp edges, living it with its essential two dimensional elements.  This painting gives no illusion of depth and the shapes are 2 dimensional, keeping this painting simple but stunning.

"The form of my painting is the content."
- Ellsworth Kelly

This is the painting that made me choose the category of my exhibition. This is one of my absolute favorites. 

Mark Rothko, No 14, 1960, Oil On Canvas, 9' 6" X 8' 9"

                                                No 14, 1960, Oil On Canvas, 9' 6" X 8' 9"
                                                                    -Mark Rothko

Mark Rothko (September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970) was a Russian-American painter - classified as an abstract expressionist. June 1921 at the age of 17 he completed the secondary level with honors at Lincoln High School in Portland. He learned his fourth language, English, and became an active member of the Jewish community center, where he proved adept at political discussions and like his father, Rothko was passionate about such issues as workers’ rights and women's right to contraception.He received a scholarship to Yale based on academic performance.After he moved to New York, Rothko stated, that he "happened to wander into an art class, to meet a friend"; impressed by the school, the experience provoked his determination to become an artist. In January 1924, Rothko enrolled at the Art Students League and began taking anatomy courses. Rothko's interest in luminosity compelled him to paint in watercolor. In the1940s he produced some extraordinary works using a palette of grays and earth tones, colors he would later use in a powerful series of works executed in the last years of his life. Untitled No. 10; - Untitled No. 16. 
His paintings became simple, and increasingly focused on color as the conveyor of meaning.

"I realize that historically the function of painting large pictures is painting something very grandiose and pompous. The reason I paint them, however . . . is precisely because I want to be very intimate and human. To paint a small picture is to place yourself outside your experience, to look upon an experience as a stereopticon view or with a reducing glass. However you paint the larger picture, you are in it. It isn't something you command!"

                                                          -Rothko

"A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer. It dies by the same token. It is therefore a risky and unfeeling act to send it out into the world. How often it must be permanently impaired by the eyes of the vulgar and the cruelty of the impotent who would extend the affliction universally!"

                                                                       -Rothko

The use of two colors and simple shapes forming the abstract form of this painting is what makes this a perfect fit for my exhibit.

Barnett Newman, Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950-1951, Oil on Canvas, 7' 11 3/8" X 17' 9 1/4"

                 Vir Heroicus Sublimis, 1950-1951, Oil on Canvas, 7' 11 3/8" X 17' 9 1/4"
                                                              -Barnett Newman

Barnett Newman (January 29, 1905 – July 4, 1970) was an American artist. He is seen as one of the major figures in abstract expressionism and one of the foremost of the color field painters. In  the 1940s he worked as a surrealist, before developing his mature style. This is characterized by areas of color separated by thin vertical lines, or "zips" as Newman called them. In the first works featuring zips, the color fields are varied, but later the colors are of pure and flat. The zips define the spatial structure of the painting, while simultaneously dividing and uniting the composition. His use of hard-edged areas of flat color, can be seen as a precursor to post painterly. 

“Any art worthy of its name should address 'life', 'man', 'nature', 'death' and 'tragedy'. “
-Barnett Newman

“I hope that my painting has the impact of giving someone, as it did me, the feeling of his own totality, of his own separateness, of his own individuality. “
-Barnett Newman

“I prefer to leave the paintings to speak for themselves. “
 -Barnett Newman

This is a personal favorite of mine, and one of the many reasons why I chose to do this particular exhibit.

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow,1930, Oil on Canvas, 1' 6 1/8" X 1' 6 1/8"

 Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow,1930, Oil on Canvas, 1' 6 1/8" X 1' 6 1/8"
                              -Piet Mondrian

Piet Mondrian (March 7, 1872 – February 1, 1944) was a Dutch painter. He was a contributor to the De Stijl art movement. He evolved a non-representational form which he termed Neo-Plasticism. This consisted of white ground, upon which was painted a grid of vertical and horizontal black lines and the three primary colors. In 1892, Mondrian entered the Academy for Fine Art in Amsterdam. He began his career as a teacher in Primary Education, but he also practiced painting. Most of his work from this period is Naturalistic or Impressionistic, consisting largely of landscapes.

"The truly modern artist is aware of abstraction in an emotion of beauty."

                 -Piet Mondrian

This piece is a great addition to my exhibit, the colors, abstract quality and thought provoking theme . 

Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich, Suprematist Composition Airplane Flying, 1914, Oil on Canvas. 1' 107/8 X 1 7"

                   Suprematist Composition Airplane Flying, 1914, Oil on Canvas. 1' 107/8 X 1 7"
                                         -Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich,

Kazimir Malevich (February 23 1879 – May 15 1935) was a Russian painter and art theoretician. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the avant-garde Suprematism movement.In 1915, Malevich laid down the foundations of Suprematism. He published his manifesto From Cubism to Suprematism. Malevich became a member of the Collegium on the Arts of Narkompros, the commission for the protection of monuments and the museums commission (all from 1918–1919).

 "Hence, to the Suprematist, the appropriate means of representation is always the one which gives fullest possible expression to feeling as such and which ignores the familiar appearance of objects.

Objectivity, in itself, is meaningless to him; the concepts of the conscious mind are worthless. Feeling is the determining factor ... and thus art arrives at non objective representation at Suprematism...Everything which determined the objective ideal structure of life and of "art' ideas, concepts, and images all this the artist has cast aside in order to heed pure feeling... Suprematism is the rediscovery of pure art which, in the course of time, had become obscured by the accumulation of "things".



"Painting is the aesthetic side of the object but it has never been original, has never been its own goal." 
                        -Kazimir Malevich

Kazimir Malevich used his abstract style called suprematism to convey that the supreme reality is pure feeling. He used bright colors next to dark colors while creating negative space. With this use of color and shapes, its a must to have in my exhibit. 

Edward Weston, Nude, 1925, Platinum Print, 71/2" X 91/2"

                                         Nude, 1925, Platinum Print, 71/2" X 91/2"
                                                                  -Edward Weston

 

Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 - January 1, 1958) He began photographing at the age of 16 after receiving a Bull’s Eye #2 camera from his father. In 1908 Weston attended the Illinois College of Photography in Effingham, Illinois. He completed the 12-month course in six months and returned to California. Between 1927 and 1930, Weston made a series of monumental close-ups of seashells, peppers, and halved cabbages, bringing out the rich textures of their sculpture-like forms. In 1936 marked the start of Weston’s series of nudes and sand dunes in Oceano, California, which are often considered some of his finest pieces.

 "I am stimulated to work with the nude body, because of the infinite combinations of lines which are present with every move,"

                        -Edward Weston .

"Is love like art - something always ahead, never quite attained,"

-Edward Weston

“The camera should be used for a recording of life, for rendering the very substance and quintessence of the thing itself, whether it be polished steel or palpitating flesh.”

      -Edward Weston

This picture is abstract, in black and white showcasing the human body (only a portion) - making a great addition to my exhibit. 

Jean (Hans) ARP,Collage Arranged According to the Laws of Chance, 1916-1917. Torn and Pasted paper, 1' 7/8" X 1' 15/8"

Collage Arranged According to the Laws of Chance, 1916-1917. Torn and Pasted paper, 1' 7/8" X 1' 15/8"

                     -Jean Hans ARP

For this piece, Jean Hans dropped squares (torn out of paper) onto a sheet of paper and then glued them. 

Jean Hans (September 16 1887 – 1966) He was a sculptor, painter and poet. He Spent some time at the Julian Academy of Paris in 1908. After that, he went to Weggis, Switzerland, where he worked for some years in solitude. Co-founder of the Zürich DaDa movement in 1916. 

 " I allow myself to be guided by the work which is in the process of being born, I have confidence in it (automatic painting, fh). I do not think about it. The forms arrive pleasant, or strange, hostile, inexplicable, mute, or drowsy. They are born from themselves. It seems to me as if all I do is move my hands." 

          - Jean Hans ARP

 

This piece was created in a unique manner and gave art to the Dada movement. Something I feel fits in nicely with my exhibit. 

Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich, Black Square, 1915, Oil on Canvas,106 x 106 cm

 Black Square, 1915, Oil on Canvas,106 x 106 cm

-Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich

The Black Square is one of the most famous creations of Russian art in the last century. The first Black Square was painted in 1915 to become the turning point in the development of Russian avant-garde.
Black Square against white background became the symbol, the basic element in the system of the art of suprematism, the step into the new art.

Kazimir Malevich (February 23 1879 – May 15 1935) was a Russian painter and art theoretician. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the avant-garde Suprematism movement.In 1915, Malevich laid down the foundations of Suprematism. He published his manifesto From Cubism to Suprematism. Malevich became a member of the Collegium on the Arts of Narkompros, the commission for the protection of monuments and the museums commission (all from 1918–1919).

 "Hence, to the Suprematist, the appropriate means of representation is always the one which gives fullest possible expression to feeling as such and which ignores the familiar appearance of objects.

Objectivity, in itself, is meaningless to him; the concepts of the conscious mind are worthless. Feeling is the determining factor ... and thus art arrives at non objective representation at Suprematism...Everything which determined the objective ideal structure of life and of "art' ideas, concepts, and images all this the artist has cast aside in order to heed pure feeling... Suprematism is the rediscovery of pure art which, in the course of time, had become obscured by the accumulation of "things".

This piece became a staple for a huge movement, and something many people only hoped to accomplish with their own art. Making it a perfect addition to my exhibit

Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich, Suprematism with Blue Triangle and Black Square,1915 ,oil on canvas, 26.2" × 22.4"

             Suprematism with Blue Triangle and Black Square,1915 ,oil on canvas, 26.2" × 22.4"
                                                                                   -Kazimir (Kasimir) Malevich

Kazimir Malevich (February 23 1879 – May 15 1935) was a Russian painter and art theoretician. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the avant-garde Suprematism movement.In 1915, Malevich laid down the foundations of Suprematism. He published his manifesto From Cubism to Suprematism. Malevich became a member of the Collegium on the Arts of Narkompros, the commission for the protection of monuments and the museums commission (all from 1918–1919).

 "Hence, to the Suprematist, the appropriate means of representation is always the one which gives fullest possible expression to feeling as such and which ignores the familiar appearance of objects.

Objectivity, in itself, is meaningless to him; the concepts of the conscious mind are worthless. Feeling is the determining factor ... and thus art arrives at non objective representation at Suprematism...Everything which determined the objective ideal structure of life and of "art' ideas, concepts, and images all this the artist has cast aside in order to heed pure feeling... Suprematism is the rediscovery of pure art which, in the course of time, had become obscured by the accumulation of "things."

This piece shows that such a big statement can be made from minimal shapes and colors.

Josef Albers, Homage To the Square: "Ascending", 1953. Oil On Composition board, 3' 71/2" X 3' 71/2"

  Homage To the Square: "Ascending", 1953. Oil On Composition board, 3' 71/2" X 3' 71/2" 
                                                                   -Josef Albers

Josef Albers has painted hundred of canvases with the same composition but in different hues, value and saturation all to show the instability and relativity of color perception. He explained his motivation:
  "They (the colors) are juxtaposed for various and changing visual effects... Such actions, reaction, interaction...is sought in order to make obvious how colors influence and change each other; that the same color, for instance-with different grounds or neighbors-looks different...Such color deceptions prove that we see colors almost ever unrelated to each other."

 Josef Albers (March 19, 1888 – March 25, 1976) was a German (born) American artist and educator whose work, both in Europe and in the United States, formed the basis of some of the most influential and far-reaching art education programs of the 20th century. He worked as a school teacher from 1908 to 1913. In 1918 he received his first public commission, Rosa mystica ora pro nobis, a stained-glass window for a church. He studied art in Berlin, Essen, and Munich, before enrolling as a student at the prestigious Weimar Bauhaus in 1920. The director and founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius, asked him in 1923 to teach then in 1925, Albers was promoted to Professor. 

          
This piece uses one primary shape and 4 colors, but invokes great thought along with the realization of color relationships and tonal value - making it a great addition to the exhibit. 

Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. 4, 1930 Oil On Canvas 3' 4" X 2' 6" By Georgia O'Keefe

                                 Jack-in-the-Pulpit No. 4, 1930 Oil On Canvas 3' 4" X 2' 6" 
                                                               -Georgia O'Keeffe
This beautiful abstract piece is the inside and extremely close up view of a flower. The darkness is surrounded by a halo of light, playing off of the shapes of the petals while enhancing the color and adding depth to the darkness. This is a piece from a series of 6 paintings, each one increasing in detail.

Robertson calls O'Keefe's Jack-in-the-Pulpit series "O'Keeffe's most complete statement of the relationship between abstraction and representation."
       
   O’Keeffe (Nov. 15, 1887,- March 6, 1986,) She studied art in Chicago and New York City. By the early 1920s, her highly individualistic painting style had emerged. Her subjects were often enlarged views of the skulls and other bones of animals, flowers and plant organs, shells, rocks, mountains, and other natural forms. Her mysteriously suggestive images of bones and flowers set against a perspective less space have inspired a variety of erotic, psychological, and symbolic interpretations. She is regarded by critics as one of the most original and important American artists. 


 “It is surprising to me to see how many people separate the objective from the abstract. Objective painting is not good painting unless it is good in the abstract sense. A hill or tree cannot make a good painting just because it is a hill or a tree. It is lines and colors put together so that they say something. For me that is the very basis of painting. The abstraction is often the most definite form for the intangible thing in myself that I can only clarify in paint.”
“I long ago came to the conclusion that even if I could put down accurately the thing that I saw and enjoyed, it would not give the observer the kind of feeling it gave me. I had to create an equivalent for what I felt about what I was looking at – not copy it.”
                       -Georgia O’Keeffe, 1976

 

 This piece was added to my exhibition because of the simplicity of design,  abstract quality and use of very few colors. With its nature depiction and use of abstract form I found it to be a great addition to my gallery of art. 

Conclusion

   During this process I organized artists according to theme and found it rather enjoyable, finding similarities through different time periods, countries and media types. It took some time and  careful process but I think it all came together rather nicely. The theme came to me pretty easily, I found myself enjoying more simplistic pieces compared to the more complex - the amount of thought and feelings towards any of these pieces can be so vastly different from person to person that I find it more interesting than the pieces (at times).

    As curator I feel the job was very interesting and thought provoking, I think at least it is a good example of  my tastes and the way art speaks to me, and how it has changed and yet stayed the same throughout history.  Art is a wonderful source of stirring up controversy, thought, and even conversation. From a simple square, color, brush stroke so much can be created!
         
            "If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced."
         Vincent Van Gogh

                                                  "A picture is worth a thousand words."
                                                                Napoleon Bonaparte

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
            Scott Adams