Module 11: Video Review

1. Explain why you selected each of the TWO videos you choose from the selection listed above.

I watched The Mystical North: Spanish Art from the 19th Century to Present and Dada and Surrealism. I selected both of these videos because I wanted to learn more about these art movements, how the art influenced the world, and the artists who influenced them. 

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

The Mystical North: Spanish Art from the 19th Century to Present discusses the influence Spain had on Modern Art. The first artist the video dives into is Francisco de Goya. He spent his youth making lighthearted portraits for the Spanish elite, and after an illness that left him almost deaf, he was left quite introspective within himself, and his art took a drastic turn to darkness and commentary. In 1806, Napoleon invaded Spain, and the Spaniards were greatly outnumbered. The battle was dark and this greatly affected Goya; this resulted in 85 etchings called "The Disasters of War". They were too dark to be published in his own lifetime. Goya then retreated into solitude where he created "The Black Paintings" directly onto his walls. He had created a new outlook within art; conveying horror, despair and doubt. All of these paintings were never shown until they were re-created 70 years after his death. It wasn't until the 20th century that Goya's doubt was shown again in Spanish art. The next artist the video examines is Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi's structures were inspired by God; quite the opposite from Goya. His most troublesome project was the Sagrada Familia cathedral. He was never able to finish the painstaking project. His other influential project was a row of flats called "La Cadrera", which the video explains shows Gaudi's genius; rewriting not only 20th century architecture, but also sculpture. Gaudi's work influenced the next artist the video discusses: Pablo Picasso. Picasso grew up in Barcelona, and even though he spent most of his life in France, his artwork always conveyed the memories of Barcelona. The video walks us through the Picasso Museum, which Picasso designed himself. His young pieces were heavy with religious themes, and even though they moved into subject matter that was more progressive, his works always had a religious undertone. The next artist the video discusses is Salvador Dali. Dali's work all had an infatuation with death, and he used food, sex and death as his inspirations. The video then visits his mausoleum; in which Dali is buried under the floor. He called it the world's largest surrealist object, yet the video describes it as an amusement of horrors. The video explains that Dali gave us the language of dreams. He became a controversial figure and amidst a tumultuous time in Spain between the Communist left and Fascist right. He was kicked out of the Surrealist group and created Premonition of a Civil War. Six months after, civil war rang out in Spain. The video then visits the ruins of Belchite, in which was hit the hardest and destroyed by the war. In April of 1937, one of the worst atrocities happened of the war; the bombing of Guernica, which is the subject of one of Picasso's most influential pieces. The last artists the video examines is Frank Gehry's building designs which helped reshape and modernize Spain after the war, and Calatrava, who designed a modern winery that is steeped in Spanish tradition; the culmination of all the controversial artists that preceded him.

Dada and Surrealism begins examining Kurt Schwitters, explaining that at one time, using every day materials such as tram tickets, restaurant receipts, etc. was not a common act within art. He influenced the perception on what art could be and was a forerunner in these movements. He concentrated on basic shapes, and often used 3-dimensional materials. He also created the Merz structures within his homes and they have a likeness of a Cubist painting, but in 3-dimensional form. He also created a newspaper named Merz, promoting Modern art and this brought him many places to dispense his message. His main aspiration was to take every day objects and remove them from their role, and incorporate them into his art to reveal their "secret life". The next piece of work the video discusses is Hanna Hoch's Cut with the Kitchen Knife. Hoch was a Dada artist, which is explained is a state of mind and an expression of jangled feelings. Hoch was the only woman in the Dada movement, and she used Dada to attack a society she detested. The piece appears chaotic, but a preliminary sketch reveals that each piece and representation was carefully planned as commentary on the people and society in which she loathed. The video also examines some more of her work, and how she uses juxtaposition and contrasting subject matter to comment on a changing world. Next the video looks at George Grosz's Untitled. Grosz aimed to convey the mechanical nonsense that man had become through his work, and was heavily influenced by the first world war. He captured every day people we recognize, and does so with simple lines and forms. The video next discusses Joan Miro's Dutch Interior I, which is a parody on a Dutch painting he saw many years before. He uses abstract shapes and color to leave clues to the viewer about what they are looking at. The Dutch picture asks the viewer to believe what they are looking at, whereas Miro's image makes the viewer work to discover each element and what it represents. The following work the video looks at is Salvador Dali's The Burning Garaffe. Dali used his art to explore the darkest depths of the human mind. All of his works seem to show a world in which civilization has reached a stage of decay, and the subjects of this work are no exception; each subject has lost all hope and endures its misfortunes. The video also discusses Dali's nod to the Spanish civil war through the burning giraffe. The last piece the video discusses is Man Ray's La Fortune. The painting focuses on familiar objects within an unfamiliar setting. In  New York, Man Ray was a Dadaist, and when he moved to New  York, he was a Surrealist, and his goal was to express his interest in unrelated objects in unfamiliar settings. It seems Man Ray did so to challenge the viewer and almost to mock them by saying "not everything has a meaning!".

2. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

The text discusses most of these artists, yet, I feel the videos give a much more expanded dive into each, along with teaching me about a couple of artists I wasn't familiar with. The videos definitely give much more information on each movement and artist. I feel the texts were a nice starting point, but the videos really help to understand each artist and movement much more in depth.

3. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

I enjoyed each video, specifically learning about Gaudi and Schwitters. While the videos gave me a deeper understanding of each artist and movement, it was also really neat to learn about these two artists that I hadn't known. I have always been interested in Spanish art, Dada and Surrealism, and I feel the videos deepened my knowledge about each with additional history and how each artist encompassed these movements through their work.