GREENSBORO COLLEGE ART COLUMN

If I had to choose my favorite painting, I would choose the impressionist paintings, Water Lilies, by French painter Claude Monet. Claude Monet is one of my favorite artists so of course I’m going to love his work. His Water Lilies series contain over two hundred pieces. These paintings portray Monet’s flower gardens at his home in Giverny.

A few years ago I was given the opportunity to see one of Monet’s water lilies in person at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The water lilies I got to see were part of a three panel painting. Each panel was about six feet tall and thirteen feet wide so altogether the whole piece was six feet tall and around forty-two feet wide. I didn’t know it was such a large piece and was kind of taken back by the grandeur of it. The colors had me hooked. The blending of blues and greens matched up against the warmer colors of pink and magenta were stunning. Monet took a simple concept such as water lilies and created something so beautiful about them. I almost felt like I was there in his garden looking at these water lilies. In my opinion it was the most beautiful painting I had ever seen. I think I may have also cried a little bit too.

If someone were to ask me what my favorite artist was, I would undoubtadly say impressionist artist Claude Monet. Now some may say, “that’s a basic answer, everybody likes Monet,” and yeah many people like Monet but for me, I have always ben inspired by his work. His impressionist style, technique, and subject matter are all things that have not only influenced me as a person but has greatly influenced my own work as an artist.

Now for those of you who don’t know much about Claude Monet, I’ll give you a rundown on his life and work. Claude Monet or Oscar-Claude Monet was born in November of 1840 in the ninth arrondissement of Paris. His father was a wholesale merchant and his mother was a singer. He spent most of his childhood in Normandy where his family moved when he was five years old. He began to draw caricatures and portraits of people he knew at the age of fifteen for money and he began his first drawing lessons from artist Jacques-Francois Ochard. Later on he met fellow artist Eugene Boudin and he encouraged him to develop his techniques and taught him the “en plein air” techniques for painting. He thought of Boudin as his master, whom “he owed everything to.” After the death of his mother in 1857, he and his father went to live with his aunt. His aunt ended up being the source of support for his early art career.

He continued his studies in Paris and enrolled in the Swiss Academy. There he met Camille Pissarro, but not too long after, he was called to serve in Algeria. His time spent in Algeria would later influence his artistic style. After his return from Algeria, Monet decided to enroll in Charles Gleyre’s studio and began working with artists Alfred Sisley, Auguste Renoir, and Frederic Basille, all of whom became his close friends. He often painted alongside Renoir and Sisley, mostly because both shared his desire to set forth new standards of beauty in conventional subjects.

During this time, Monet painted his first successful large scale painting called Women in Garden and another painting called Le dejeuner sur l’herbe. Due to large praise of a previous piece at the Salon in 1865, he had hoped that Le dejeuner sur l’herbe would get him back into the Salon in 1866 but because he couldn’t finish it on time, he decided to submit a different piece called The Woman in the Green Dress. He submitted many works to the Salon but only two pieces were ever excepted. They considered his work to be radical, “discouraged at all official levels.”

Monet was married twice during his lifetime. He married his first wife, Camille Doncieux in 1870 just before the Franco-Prussian War. During the war, he and his family lived in London and the Netherlands to avoid being drafted. While living in London Monet befriended art dealer, Paul Durand-Ruel who would later help in making Monet’s impressionist paintings known. In 1874, Monet, Manet and Renoir met in Argenteuil and held the first impressionist exhibition. That year would mark the height of the impressionist movement and would define Monet as one of its creators. The movement’s very first work was called, Impression, Rising Sun. The impressionists would produce six exhibitions until 1882, after that, they each began to go there different ways and some sold their work independently.

In 1879, Monet’s first wife Camille died of uterine cancer. He later made a study in oils of his late wife. Monet moved to Giverny with his then partner Alice Hoschedé in 1883 along with her six children from a marriage to Ernest Hoschedé and with two children from Monet’s marriage. They would officially get married in 1892.

The house in Giverny was perfect for Monet and his family. There was a barn that doubled as a painting studio, orchards and a small garden. The house was close enough to the local schools for the children to attend, and the surrounding landscape provided numerous natural areas for Monet to paint. The gardens and surrounding area would become Monet’s inspiration for many of his paintings that are today extremely famous today such as his Water Lilies Series. He did end up purchasing the house and built a greenhouse and a second studio later on. Monet died in his home at Giverny on December 5, 1926.

In my opinion, Monet was an amazing artist for his time. He basically gave Impressionism its name. He went against the conventional art style of the time to create something new and different. He sought to paint the passage of time, changes in weather, and depict basic subjects in a beautiful way and that’s exactly what he did. He went out, rain or shine into the world and painted from real life and I believe that is one of the best ways to paint even though it can be somewhat tricky for someone first starting out but hey practice does make perfect. Which reminds me of another thing Monet did, he would paint the same scenery different way. For example, he has many paintings of the Seine because every time he would back and paint, he saw something different each time. And I think that it really shows what a great artist he was if he could create something different each time he was looking at the same thing.

 

Recently I was given a wonderful opportunity to see the immersive Van Gogh exhibit with my boyfriend in Charlotte, North Carolina. In my opinion, the exhibit was fantastic, and would recommend anyone to go and experience it! Not only did they have the virtual reality part of the exhibit, but they included other things as well.

I was in awe by the fact that the exhibit was held in an old Ford motor assembly building that was built in 1924. I believe it’s pretty amazing when you can refurbish an old building and turn it into something creative and create a space other people can enjoy too. The building still had its original steel and glass windows, brick, and stone flooring. And to my surprise, the building did not feel drafty and cold inside but felt pretty warm for being such an old building.

Before you go into the main virtual reality part of the exhibit you walk through the building and are able to see artworks, sculptures, and clothing designs done by artists inspired by Van Gogh’s work. There is an educational aspect of the exhibit where you can read about Van Gogh, his life, and all his artworks. One interesting thing that I learned there was that Vincent van Gogh created over 35 self-portraits but only one portrait photo of him has survived. They also include quotes by Van Gogh and have them printed on walls all around the building.

After you walk through the first part of the building you stop and show your ticket to the person who is standing beside the tire sculpture. They then tell you to follow the arrows they have marked and you walk through a small dark tunnel. As you emerge from the dark tunnel you walk into this gigantic 15,000 square-foot projection room that is displaying 360degree views of Van Gogh and his artworks. Due to some Covid restrictions, you had to wear a mask and social distance but the cool thing about the exhibit was that they had these circles laid out on the floor with benches placed inside on them so people could sit and enjoy the exhibit but also be far away enough to social distance. My boyfriend and I decided to sit somewhere in the back because the front of the room was already pretty crowded. So we sit down and start to enjoy the visual part of the exhibit. It was so mesmerizing and visually beautiful to watch the slideshow depicting Van Gogh, his early works which include sketches, then his later works, and of course, famous pieces like Starry Night appeared on the screen. The ending of it was very unique as well. They showed his self-portrait of him in the straw hat with birthday candles on top and as the slide keeps moving, the candles are blown out suggesting his death. They also included a variety of music to go with different parts of the slides and I felt like that connected everything together in a beautiful way.

The virtual reality part of the exhibit ran about an hour but you were allowed to stay in there for as long as you wanted to so we stayed in there for about two hours. When you’re done watching the visual aspect, you exited through another dark tunnel and were led to the exhibits gift shop. They had a cafe part which was set up very nicely but we ended up going to eat somewhere else. They also had booths of local artists showing and selling their works.

In all, the exhibit was pretty amazing. The visual effects and music played along with it were beyond any of my expectations. Being inside the room with 360degree views of his work made me feel like I was actually there inside of his work and that was an awesome feeling. I also feel like after experiencing this exhibit, I can appreciate his work, his artistry, and him as a person more. I would also recommend this exhibit to anybody because I believe that all people could benefit from being exposed to his work in this visual way.

Impressionism is an art movement distinguished by relatively small thin brushstrokes, open configuration, emphasis on accurate representation of light and its changing qualities, everyday subject matter, and the involvement of movement which is an important element of human perception and experience. Impressionism emerged from a group of Paris based artists who faced severe opposition from the traditional art community in France. Some impressionist artist include, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro. These artists independent showcases brought them into fame during the 1870s and 1880s.

Many of these impressionist artists violated the rules of academic painting which is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Instead their pictures were created from freely brushed colors that took precedence over lines and contours. The Impressionists also found that they could capture the momentary and transient effects of sunlight by painting outdoors or also called en plein air.

In my opinion, I believe that Impressionism is the most beautiful and most relatable form of art. Impressionism is also one of my favorite forms of art. The detailed brushstrokes, the colors, the representation of light and its changing qualities, and their depiction of everyday subject matter, is what makes Impressionism so beautiful. The thing that I like most about Impressionism is that it is painted in real time. Impressionists didn’t just paint random objects or people, they painted life around them, the people they saw/knew, the places they went and their own personal lives. We get a glimpse of what these artists saw and experienced through their eyes and I think that is incredible. Just look at Camille Pissarro’s, Jeanne Holding a Fan, the painting depicts his youngest daughter Jeanne-Rachel who died of tuberculosis at the age of eight. It was painted a few months before she died and depicts her sitting inside near a stove rather than her being a healthy child playing outside. If he were to have painted in another style I don’t think he would’ve been able to capture that moment with his daughter as well, but the impressionist style allows us to really see what he saw.

Cubism is a style and art movement in which the perspective with a single viewpoint was deserted and the use of simple geometric shapes, interlocking planes, and collages were brought into play. Cubism has been considered one of the most influential art movements of the 20th century. A few artists that are associated with this movement include, Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Jaun Gris, Fernand Leger, Robert Delaunay, and Paul Cezanne.

Though I respect and applaud the artists’ for the creativity and uniqueness in their artworks, I do not like their cubism pieces. In my opinion, cubism is ugly and too geometrical for my taste. The conceptual shapes, the hard outlines, and the dark colors used in cubism are things that I don’t enjoy looking at in a piece of artwork. With cubism I feel like I don’t understand what is going on in a piece or I don’t understand the concept of what they are trying to portray and that bothers me. When I look at a piece of artwork I don’t want to feel like I’m constantly trying to figure out what is going on, I want the piece to feel warm and inviting and something I can relate to but with cubism I just don’t get any of that.

Back in late 2019 and early 2020, things in life weren’t going so great for lil’ old me. However, one saving grace was a short but sweet Youtube series called “Epithet Erased”. It was a show that came from Brendan Blaber, or better known under his Youtube name “JelloApocalypse”, who created the famous “So This Is Basically” series. Which, along with his creativity and charming art style, granted him an audience back in his earlier days of Youtube. Because of his warranted success ripping on many cartoon shows in a fun way, he set out with a team of animators to create a show of his own. I don’t recall ever hesitating to watch it back when it was first announced and it seems many others did the same, as almost every episode has well over a million views! Which honestly was my biggest concern because of how GREAT the show is!

So, the show itself? Well I just told you how I felt about it. I still don’t know if it was properly appreciated due to how many people always brought up their issue with the animation. But overall, it’s a simple story that revolves around the powers of some special individuals with “Epithets”. [Side Note: I had NEVER heard of this word before this show, so big props for the creativity of that name.] Anyways, from what I understand, epithets themselves are adjectives used to describe a person’s characteristics. Dirty Daniel, Ugly Ursula, Hungry Jorge, etc. etc. And in the show, these specific words are the powers that certain people have. Our main girl for the 1st half of the show, Molly, has the epithet “Dumb” is used to numb or…*ahem* “Dumb down” noises and other things. And as you watch, the powers can range from really creative to just really funny. And I like the variety that’s present in the usefulness of their powers. Considering the rareness of even having an epithet, the chances of having a “good” one is just as slim. 

Regardless, like I said, the story is relatively simple to follow. With the whole season being split into two different arcs, one following the other’s events, it’s a pretty cohesive plot involving some lovable characters. I’ll spare details to avoid spoilers and to promote watchers because the series needs support! And if you’d love to see all 6 episodes just from what I’ve described, here’s a link: Epithet Erased | EP1 – Quiet in the Museum!

First, let’s artistically speak about how the show looks.

The show’s overall look is really nice to look at, which is no surprise considering the channel this comes from! (But thank you so much to all the animators and portrait designers on staff) Locations and backgrounds are pretty well made and the little title cards in between sections of the episodes have so much personality. Character designs are top notch and imaginative.

They get really fun to look at and some of the characters have specific details that point to their abilities. A small spoiler but there’s a character with black and white striped hair, and he uses coupons as his ability. I love things like this in shows, because it shows how attentive a show’s producers and animators can be. There aren’t any problems with character designs, they all translate very well to the style the show has, considering the lack of proper animation. The animation isn’t exactly a problem but it will take some getting used to if you aren’t used to it yet. While they are mostly still poses, luckily, characters’ movement from mouths to their bodies fill in the blanks for you. There’s a top down view for some scenes that I feel take too much away from the viewing experience. They probably did this to give the animators an easier time and to get things done faster between production, but they feel much less connected than the poses of the characters. Now, there are actual animated scenes within the show, but they are saved for very important and specific finale type scenes. And I think I could live with this because it makes those scenes all the more exciting when they come up and narratively have more impact.

Now, onto my favorite part of any show, the characters! 

This is one aspect that REALLY shines throughout the series. This section wasn’t hard to write at all because despite not truly watching the series for around two years, every single character’s name is burned in my head and heart with love. The voice performances really sell the characters and take the whole show to a new level. Another strong suit of Mr.Baber and his team. I will say, however, that mostly every character can be boiled down to a single adjective mostly (unrelated to their epithet, of course) but that is not too much of  a bad thing. They all work so well together and characters’ other sides are displayed through parts of the show. Characters’ motives and dynamics are very clear and understandable which makes for a very fun story to watch. And adding onto that, all the characters are surprisingly pretty funny, actually. My favorite one being Percy, who is a cop with a real ass sword! She’s sweet, mindful, and overall willing to do anything to get her job done, although she can easily misread a room. She bounces off real well when she’s paired with the crime filled and cautious lovable rat child Ramsey. What seems to be a fan favorite though is the dynamic between Giovanni and Molly, considering the unlikelihood of their friendship, along with how much it shows Giovanni’s sweeter side to people he cares about. 

And that’s all I’ll say about the show, because (again) I REALLY want people to watch the series. It was something that surprised me with how attached I became to the characters and there is a risk that this may be the only time it’ll be animated without proper funding. I sent a link to the show earlier but here’s a link to the Kickstarter: Epithet Erased: Prison Of Plastic! It’s how they’ll be continuing the series and support for this would mean a bunch to me! Check it out whenever you want and until next time!

Animated movies usually grab my attention out of all other types of media. There is usually just a lot more to love and observe the ways different animation studios create their movies to make them special. At least that’s how I approach them, and most of the time, I’m disappointed. The overall stigma with cartoons or anything animated is that it’s targeted at children, making it hard to watch these shows/movies without cringing from the lack of effort put into making them more entertaining than just a bunch of moving colors. And there are a LOT of movies that come off as only generic, so unless it’s established with a popular property or a well known studio, I stray away from it. 

So when I initially saw Vivo, I looked away without a second thought. From the art style alone, I felt it was going to be another forgettable animated experience. But weeks later, I was watching Youtube and a song caught my ear. It was a small snippet with a catchy tempo, and when I looked it up, I was surprised to see it came from Vivo. That night I decided to take the time to see what this movie had to offer, and as you can probably tell from the title, it blew my expectations out of the park. But maybe I should explain what “Vivo” is…

Vivo is an animated film named after a kinkajou travelling with Gabi, a rebellious child who wants to help Andres, who is her relative and also the person who takes care of Vivo, send a love song to his old friend. A simple story that really brings together a mix of short but lovable moments and most importantly, music! The story takes place in the Caribbean region, Havana, Cuba and Florida, and hones in on the importance of its culture to the music. But regardless of all of the details, I have got to tell you which ones I love this most about this film.

The music is a big part of my love for this movie. This is one of the few animated musicals that every piece astounds me. Every major song from “One of A Kind” to “Inside Your Heart” is a complete masterpiece from start to finish, and they ALL are catchy as hell! There’s hardly a place in the soundtrack lacking emotion and fun, and for that I commend it. Not only does the music sound great, it always fits right into the situation that’s going on within the context of the movie. And both the visuals and the music carry one another very well, especially when the characters are singing. For example, Gabi’s song “My Own Drum” is the perfect encapsulation of her character. Before that song, we only met her a few times and don’t know much about her other than her wanting to take care of Vivo. But with the song she sings, we get to see how she sees the world. Through a dream-like sequence, we see digital visuals around her to represent the music she’s into and having her and Vivo have big parade balloons to show how much she values their friendship. And you also learn about how reckless and what she’s insecure about. It’s done so cleverly too, she slides in the line “I’ve got my own seat on the bus, I’ve always been a “Me” not an “Us”. Giving the audience just a little more history on who she is. She also feels entirely organic the entire way through. She feels to be one of the most human adaptations of a child in media I’ve ever seen, which is so impressive.

An interesting concept this movie has is that Vivo can understand humans, but they only hear monkey sounds. However, whenever Vivo is singing with anyone, they can understand each other and talk to each other perfectly. There aren’t any clear acknowledgements of it and it isn’t even a major part of the movie, like there isn’t some weird magical spell but it just happens. At first glance, this seems weird, but I believe this is a signifying detail that when there’s music, Vivo and his comrades are speaking the same language. Which is just a brilliant detail to have. They could’ve easily made the generic excuse of Vivo having the ability to talk, but made this decision instead. 

While overall the story itself isn’t as compelling as the music, it definitely holds its weight to where each song matters just as much as they should. A lot of qualities this movie has are all inspiring and I find myself re-watching some parts of it casually just because they really catch your eye. So I highly recommend this movie to anyone for any children and just anyone who loves animated movies. Y’know… like me!