Architecture

                                   

         Many years ago, when I was taking my drive test, I saw an architectural site that it was building the Light Rail. As you see, how magnificent it was. At the time, it was not my turn to drive, then I fell slept. When I woke up, suddenly, the magnificent scene appeared in front of me. I immediately took out the phone to take it down, even if the driver had a little panic and the car was swaying around. I didn't know how tall is the bridge pier. I just knew it was very tall, and I knew you knew too. I can't imagine that people how to build it because I am not the worker or architect. At that moment, I thought that the human has incredible power, and they made a lot of unbelievable buildings, like the Great Wall, it is the same as the existence of God.

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      According to the Chapter 13 of Living With Art, I have learned about the round arch and vault. The round arch always was used in the ancient country, especially the Rome. It is a sign of Rome because when people saw that building then they can figure out that was Rome.  Then, what is the round arch and what benefits it has? The round arch is one of the common architectural structures. It is a pressure structure.  The important thing is the stone on the top which calls keystone. Round arch can reduce the weight and materials.  When the round outward extension, it changes to space. It such as a tunnel and people call that barrel vault. When two barrel vaults across it would change to a thing which looks like the pavilion. People call that groin vault. Those arches and vaults are very common structure.

   

Shadow

Grows..

This was the picture that I took when we visited the MCA. At that time, when I walk into this place, then I found there is a big white wall. While people walk through this place, then made a lots shadow on the wall. It looked like the Shadow Play from China. In this case, I asked my classmate Jenel to be the model, and I took the picture. I saw two shadows go together, and it looked like a person was being changed. Then I give it the name Grows or Transformers.

Public Art

      There are many artworks around the world. However, Chicago is no exception, there are many public arts around downtown. Among of them, the Cloud Gate is the most famous, and it was created at Millennium Park. It looks like a bean, so people call it bean too. Also, it looks like Sun Wukong's somersault cloud, and it was the scenes of the movie "The Break-Up" and "The Vow". That's why I am looking forward to visiting it. It was created by a British artist Anish Kapoor, and it was welded by 168 stainless steel without seams. It measured  20 meters in length, 13 meters in width,  10 meters in height, and it weighs 100 tons. Thus, it such as a big mirror with bean shape. When I look at it in the distance, I could see the Chicago skyline on it.  If I walk close by it, it such as a distorting mirror.  On the bottom of Cloud Gate, there is a place that people can walk into it. It was called "omphalos". In Geek, it means"navel". When I walk into this place, I would suddenly feel dizzy. That was awesome to visit it.

            Nearby the Cloud Gate, there are others public arts.  The Crown Fountain was close by Cloud Gate. The two fountain were designed by Jaume Plensa, and they were opened in 2004.  They were made with black granite, glass brick, and LED screen. It measured 15 meters in height. Thus, even though at night, people can see it shining at night, and the two tower always shows the different faces.

        Go south, I can find the Art Institute Public Gardens and the Art Institute Public Lions. They were created by Henry Spencer Moore and Edward Kemeys. They both were the gift, and they both were made by bronze. The Gardens look like a dancing woman, and the lions look very majesty.

      Crossing the Michigan Ave and turn into E Randolph St. I can see the "We Will" It was created by Richard Hunt, and it was made by stainless steel. It measured 35-foot tall, and it such as a torch, and the "fire" looks like dancing in the breeze.

    Follow the E Randolph and through four blocks, then turn into the W Randolph, I find the "Monument with Standing Beast".  It such as a 3D graffiti or caricature. It was made with fiberglass and it created by Jean Dubuffet in 1984. It colors black and white. It looks very abstract, I thought that the artwork reflects the author's inner world, and it was very hard and messy.

Student Art Exhibit

              Today, we visited the Student Art Exhibit in Harold Washington.When I went to the room, I felt that it seemed like a small museum. I saw many works there, but some of them like created by children, and some of them were created by some skillful students. I looked around and found a small painting which it was called "Rip me up". It was an oil painting, but it was painted on a small wood, that's why I was attracted. It was not very colorful, but it was exuded a sense of oppression. It could let people feel painful. By the way, what was it sound like, it was like a trade market because I heard that people how to comment these works. In brief, it was a good event, and I could see many ideas of Harold Washington's student.

Art 21

 Art 21

   Chris Ware was born on December 28, 1967. He was a comic artist. He had said that he felt like he was kind of part of "tradition". That's why his artworks always tell people the story. His artworks reflected the early 20th-century of American styles of cartoon and graphic design. I could see that his passion for art in the episode.

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Brabara Kasten

           She is an American artist, and she was born in 1936. She said that being an artist was a determination just because she like made something. She said that if you want to do something just believe yourself and keep going and going. Her artworks mainly to the abstract. Although her artworks are mainly to photography, but she is still concerned about the new things and the environment, which makes her artistic practice is still extended to the sculpture, painting, drama etc.

Reflection MCA

    Although it's rain and windy, it can't stop our enthusiasm to visit MCA. The MCA shows many contemporary artworks.

IT'S A AWSOME SCULPTURE.

        At MCA, we can view many collection, and we can appreciate many artworks, like the picture above this paragraph, it was created by Jeff Koons in 1988; Chuck Close's the study for Frank in 1969 and Alfredo Jaar's Cries and Whispers. However, the most attractive to me was the two small space in the wall. I was attracted because its color and its appearance. When I moved to it and watch, I would think about it that what is that inside and I would follow the implied line and watched into it. It was not only fun and intereted, but also it attracted people to look at it and think about it. I though that it was the best artwork artwork that I viewed.

           

  In general, MCA was a great place to appreciate contemporary art, and I would recommend my friends to visit it.  Also, there is a gift shop,  people can choose their special gift over there.

Artist Project Round II

After watched this film, I have known more about Van Gogh. Before that, I just know that he was a very famous post-impressionist artist, but through this movie, I could know about that  Van Gogh's dedication and enthusiasm for art, and his poor life.

This movie described that the final 67 days of Van Gogh's life. In this 67 days, Van Gogh created a lot of works, such as Marguerite Gachet at the Piano, Dr.Gachet and the Wheat Fields after the Rain. In the movie, it described that the relationships of Van Gogh with his brother, Marguerite and a prostitute.

Van Gogh's brother was an art introducer and painting dealer, and he had been taking care Van Gogh. Due to others artists, Van Gogh's artworks were Ignored. Thus, Van Gogh often met the prostitute to find the inspirations.  At the meantime, he met Marguerite, Marguerite loved Van Gogh, and she tried to change the life of Van Gogh, but she couldn't.

The movie mentioned that the difficult, hard and poor life of Van Gogh. Although these impacts were there, Van Gogh did not give up his art creations. In the and of the movie, Van Gogh killed himself. People thought that because of his mental problems, but for me, I could see the loneliness and hopelessness on Van Gogh. Although our "magician" has gone, his spirit and his artworks have been admired by the people all over the world.