Louise Nevelson: Ancient Secrets

Louise Nevelson used various pieces of wood to assemble her totem-like pieces. In Ancient Secrets, you can see the various pieces of wood she used in creating the art. Nevelson used the streets for inspiration, using what she found there. Born in Russia, she was a large part of the feminist art movement, by virtue of creating what society considered masculine art (using wood, using her hands, etc..). She faced incredible sexism in the reviews of her work.

Luis Jimenez: The Decade Show: Frameworks of Identity in the 1980s

Luis Jimenez creates his work by hand, ad considers himself a blue collar artist. In the video we watched on him, he applies layers and layers of clay, shaping each piece as he goes. In this particular piece, it appears that two Native American warriors are being depicted on the back of a bald eagle, with one warrior appearing to be dead. Jimenez, who was known for controversy, is making a comment on the way Native Americans were (and are) treated in this country. I had no idea that he was killed by a piece of his own artwork, when it fell on his leg and severed an artery.

Andy Goldsworthy: The Wall that Went for a Walk; detail with pathT

In The Wall That Went for a Walk by Andy Goldsworthy, the artist uses natural materials to create lines of work that contour with the environment he's in. In this specific piece, Goldsworthy has created a winding wall made out of rock pieces that seems to wind with the path. Goldsworthy's work seems to follow our own paths in life. The work is created, just as we are born. It stays for a while, like we do, and eventually decays and disappears, like us. It must take Goldsworthy an incredible amount of time to create his pieces, as they're so intricate and use only found materials. I was recently in San Francisco, and I wish I took the time to see the piece he did for the  De Young Museum.

Jerry N. Uelsmann: Room #1

Room #1 by Jerry N. Uelsmann is a black and white photo that Uelsmann has manipulated in the dark room to piece two or three different photos together.  Uelsmann calls the process "post visualization," according to the text. Uelsmann uses enlargers and covers portions of the photographs he does not want to use, printing the photos together where it almost appears that the photo is one, until the surreal nature of the photographs is taken into account. Uelsmann intended his photos to take the viewer on a trip through the unimaginable, and he did it using analog equipment.

Henri Cartier-Bresson: SPAIN. 1933. SPAIN. 1933.

SPAIN. 1933. SPAIN. 1933. by Henri Cartier-Bresson is done in black and white, and while it may have been necessary at the time, also adds to the drama of the photo. The man in the photo is clearly broken.  is teeth are jagged and missing, he looks dirty, his clothes are ripped and he wears a hardened look on his face. It's easy to imagine the man having a hard, tough life. The juxtaposition of the painting of the woman holding the scales of justice is perfect with the hard life the man has lived. Where's his justice? Henri Cartier-Bresson is considered the father of photojournalism, and explained the difference between photography and art as the photographer being creative for a split second of time, and truly capturing a moment. 

Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still No. 84

Untitled Film Still No. 84 by Cindy Sherman is a black and white staged photo meant to imitate a film still.  The photograph resembles a film still because it is showing apparent action. Sherman, in a wig and costume for the photo, is reaching down at a broken grocery bag. Sherman seems to be making a statement on the traditional role of females, in terms of being in the kitchen and (presumably) carrying groceries. The bag appears to be ripped, and may be a statement on the discontent Sherman seems to feel in this traditional role. Sherman is still politically active, joining Artists Against Fracking in 2012 to protest Hydraulic Fracturing. 

Oil Painting: The Flame

The Flame by Jackson Pollock is an example of oil painting on canvas. Pollock, called "Jack the Dripper" by Time Magazine in 1956, experimented with different ways to use paint on canvas. The Flame was painted in his younger years, before he became famous for his work. Pollock was also an alcoholic, which eventually killed him at the age of 44 in a one car accident, in which he was driving. It's not a stretch to see how someone dealing with the demons of alcohol could create something like The Flame. There is some symbolism in it, surely. Most of us have vices, and some of us end up getting burned by them, which is what happened, figuratively, to Pollock.