Food in ARTWORK and Food in Life

On Thanksgiving it seems like the USA focuses on family and friends. People gather to eat, watch parades and football on television. Each family has its own tradition with food appearing to be the unifying theme.

Food is a common theme in ART as well. Still life paintings depict seasonal fruits and vegetables. Artists also depict hunting prowess through a display of fresh meats. I stumbled upon a website today that put together a display of several artworks that display food in art. Enjoy Art Info's Over-The-Top-Food Art Slideshow.

The image here, Still Life with Dead Game, is by the Dutch artist Willen van Aelst and is located at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Their Dutch and Flemish collection contains several works of art that display the "food theme". Take a moment to peruse their collection as well.

Assignment Updates

DUE 11-22-11 to turnitin.com Chapter 18 DQ 3:

Select a typical EARLY GOTHIC and a HIGH GOTHIC cathedral and explain the factors that differentiate one from another.


Due 11-28-11 to turnitin.com Chapter 18 DQ 10:

Discuss patronage in the medieval period, including roles played by clerics, guilds, merchants and royal patrons, noting specific examples of each.

Romanesque and Gothic Museum Catalog Information posted (7:15 AM 11-23) on Romanesque and Gothic page of Class Website.

Chapter 19 Museum Catalog and Semester Exam...due 12-12-11 DOCUMENT linked to the Chapter 19 Page of the Class website.

Turnitin.com discussion posted...due 12-8-11

Image from Notre Dame de Paris...

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by: Seurat (1884-86)

Funny how art can mimic life. After my second trip through the Art Institute of Chicago this year, I was again amazed at the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artwork on display. The local art collectors that donated their collection to the museum truly collected European masterpieces that reflected the life of the city in which they lived.

Seurat's stunning display of Pointillism in A Sunday on La Grande Jatte depicts the ideals of life in Chicago. Although the artwork was created in Europe and had no connection to the city of Chicago in the creative process, one can see how the artwork, made famous by Ferris Bueller's Day Off is an icon for the city.

Chicago was designed to have open park land along Lake Michigan. These open spaces were to be a place for citizens to gather from within the city and the developing suburban communities. Grant Park was part of the "Burnham Plan" for Chicago. Millenium Park modernized the waterfront park land. Both parks today provide gathering places for residents and tourists.

When visitors gaze at the large canvas in the Art Institute of Chicago they encounter people gathering near the water in France. They see people participating in various activities form swimming to boating to sunbathing and people watching. These same activities can be seen as one gazes at the Chicago lakefront. Although styles of clothes may change, the activities remain the same.

When I see this artwork I dream and imagine life in Chicago in the late 1800s. I look at the rest of the Impressionist exhibit in the museum and am fascinated by the taste the collectors had. The artwork they brought back from Europe truly mimicked the world in which they lived.I cannot think of a better "Museum Home" for the Impressionist artwork in the USA than Chicago!

San Diego State School of Art, Design and Art History

View an exhibition or special event and you can get a bonus. Bring an admission ticket, notes and/or a picture of you there. Prepare to share your experiences in class. Prepare to connect with our classroom learning...

School of Art, Design and Art History
http://art.sdsu.edu/

Entering the Age of Cathedrals

Next Up we'll look at Romanesque and Gothic Cathedral Construction in Europe.

Look at Smarthistory.com to start your encounter of Romanesque Art.

Smarthistory also provides a discussion about selections from the Gothic era as well.

Romanesque Art:

DUE Wednesday 11-16-11 to turnitin.com Chapter 17 DQ 3
DUE Friday 11-18-11 to turnitin.com Chapter 17 DQ 6
DUE Monday 11-21
1. Chapter 17 WKBK pages:
163-167 (NOT Sculpture Part) and 168 ALL
2. Chapter 18 WKBK Pages: 175-178, 179 (#'s 9, 10), 181-183 (Gothic Outside France
DUE 11-22-11 to turnitin.com Chapter 18 DQ 3
Due 11-28-11 to turnitin.com Chapter 18 DQ 10
TEST/Museum Catalog Due Monday 12-5-11 (Rubric posted by Wednesday 11-23-11)

Discussion question posted on turnitin.com for our first "review" as we work ahead. DUE Sunday 11-20-11.

We'll do one final chapter before the holidays ... Chapter 19 (Volume 2). A final Test and Museum Catalog will be due Monday 12-12-11...our last day of class. The Rubric will be posted by 11-23-11 ... when I post the rubric for Chapters 17 and 18. There is NO FINAL EXAM...the Museum Catalog will have a cumulative review component graded as your semester exam.

Intersession Assignments will be posted during exam week ... if you have questions you can come ask me in person or send me emails to renemacvay@yahoo.com.

IMAGE: Amiens Cathedral

Giotto...The Father of Western Art Hides a DEVIL in a Fresco

Art restorers have found the image of a devil hidden in a Giotto Fresco in Assisi. The article, Devil found in detail of Giotto's fresco in Italy, sheds light on the discovery of the "profile of a figure with a hooked nose, a sly smile, and dark horns hidden among the clouds in the panel of the scene depicting the death of St Francis".

Islam

Thursday and Friday in class you'll watch Paradise Found video from the Middle Ages page of our website. The video worksheet is due Monday. Finish what you do not get to in class Thursday/Friday over the weekend.

The direct YouTube Link to Paradise Found Islamic Architecture and Arts is here.

At the bottom of the Middle Ages page the class PowerPoint that we have been looking at in class is attached.Perhaps you wish to peruse additional links in the ppt as you start/continue working on your Museum Catalog.

Monday and Tuesday...Islam and a review of the three major religions discussed in the unit.

Thursday 11-10-11 TEST and MC for Unit 3.

Assignments for AFTER the test posted on test day...don't worry about what's next...stay focused in the present.