“The greatest misfortune is when theory outstrips performance.”

-Leonardo DaVinci

Last week, Ben Hengst, a graduate of CLU, and more recently the New York Academy of Art, paid a visit to a few classes on campus, encouraging Art Majors to seek further education post graduation. Having just finished the Masters course at one of the only institutions in the country offering classical training in the studio arts, Ben was able to offer fresh advice on the life of an emerging artist.

“At the New York Academy of Art, [they] believe that the world of visual art is built upon the essential cornerstones of figurative drawing, painting, and sculpture. Mastering these disciplines is critical to the development of an artist’s personal vision and, ultimately, to the creation of vital contemporary art.”

To see Ben’s work visit his personal page:

http://www.benhengst.com/

Or, for more information on the New York Academy of Art:

http://nyaa.edu/nyaa/home.html

amit_sood_building_a_museum_of_museums_on_the_web.html

Amit Sood, a Group Marketing Manager for Google, has created and complete to museum of the century. A site where one can virtually walk through a museum in Paris, while sitting in bed in Thousand Oaks California. The most a exciting aspect of GoogleArtProject is its high resolution viewing of any desired piece; said best by  Julian Raby, director, the Freer Gallery, Washington, DC:

“The giga-pixel experience brings us very close to the essence of the artist through detail that simply can’t be seen in the gallery itself. Far from eliminating the necessity of seeing artworks in person, Art Project deepens our desire to go in search of the real thing.”

The Directions to use the site are EASY, simply select a museum from the homepage and then either choose ‘Explore the museum’ or ‘View Artwork’. Once you are in the main site use the drop-down menus or the side info bar to navigate between artworks and museums.

Cited From:

• http://www.ted.com/speakers/amit_sood.html

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn

15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669

“Rembrandt was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period that historians call the Dutch Golden Age. Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, his later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters. Rembrandt’s greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity. Rembrandt’s greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, In his paintings and prints he exhibited knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt’s knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of Amsterdam’s Jewish population. Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called one of the great prophets of civilization.”

Biography Cited from:

• http://hoocher.com/Rembrandt/rembrandt_harmensz_van_rign.htm
• http://rusart.ca/history/rembrandt.html

Explaining the appeal of Rembrandt paintings

A researcher at the University of British Columbia claims he has figured out why Rembrandt paintings are so appealing to viewers.

“Renaissance artists used various techniques to engage viewers, many incorporating new scientific knowledge on lighting, spatial layout and perspectives. To isolate and pinpoint factors that contribute to the “magic” of Rembrandt’s portraits, DiPaola used computer-rendering programs to recreate four of the artist’s most famous portraits from photographs of himself and other models. Replicating Rembrandt’s techniques, he placed a sharper focus on specific areas of the model’s face, such as the eyes.

Working with a team from the Vision Lab in UBC’s Dept. of Psychology, DiPaola then tracked the viewers’ eye movements while they examined the original photographs and the Rembrandt-like portraits.

“When viewing the Rembrandt-like portraits, viewers fixated on the detailed eye faster and stayed there for longer periods of time, resulting in calmer eye movements,” says DiPaola, who is also an associate professor at Simon Fraser University and adjunct faculty at UBC’s Media and Graphics Interdisciplinary Centre. “The transition from sharp to blurry edges, known as ‘lost and found edges,’ also directed the viewers eyes around the portrait in a sort of narrative.”

…”Through these techniques, Rembrandt is essentially playing tour guide to his viewers hundreds of years after his death, creating a unique narrative by guiding the viewers’ eye,” says DiPaola. “This may explain why people appreciate portraiture as an art form.

Explaining Appeal Cited From:

• http://boingboing.net/2010/05/28/researcher-explains.html

A big congratulations to CLU art major Ashley Bowman for being selected as one of the finalists of the American Batik Design Competition.

The American Batik Design Competition is an open competition intended to draw from among American citizens diverse talents in fabric, graphic art and fashion design, to put on display new and original designs that allow the American spirit and values to shine through, while still recognizing uniqueness in the Batik motif. The phrase “American Batik” is a term attempting to illustrate and describe such creative designs and fashion ideas that remain influenced by typical Indonesian Batik motifs, and are bound to incorporate two criteria:

1. they have to be designed by American designers; and
2. they exhibit the American spirit and values, drawing from its history and folklore.

The theme of the competition is “The Spirit of America in the Heritage of Batik”. This theme is hoped to reflect the articulation of cultural fusion between United States and Indonesia through batik; to bring American values in the tradition of Indonesian Batik. This competition is aimed at strengthening people to people contacts between the United States and Indonesia, to bring closer the two countries’ cultural cooperation. It is also one of the Indonesian government’s efforts to internationalize batik to the world.

Judges will consist of Batik and textile experts as well as fashion designers and representatives of fashion industries from Indonesia and the U.S. Participants of this competition will be asked to create an ‘American batik’ digital design only. The transformation from digital designs into Batik Tulis (hand-made batik) will be later done by Indonesian batik artists in Indonesia.

You have made your family, friends, and colleagues very proud. You represent one of the many success stories an education in art at California Lutheran University will bring. All of us at CLU wish you the best of luck for the final.

Congratulations!