Iconoclast: Slave Auction

Slave Auction by Jean-Michel Basquiat is an example of iconoclast artwork because of the content of the painting. Basquiat is striking out against the slave trade, as it was, and how it still may impact race relations today. The puppet-master like figure seems to be conducting with nameless faces in the background, signifying the master-slave relationship.  The three letters in the bottom right hand corner almost look like KKK, an indictment on American culture. The skull with a halo implies an angel or Jesus-like innocence on the part of those who have died in the slave trade, and possibly those who are dying today.  

Icon: Garden at Sainte-Adresse

Claude Monet's Garden at Sainte-Adresse is iconic because it depicts a portrait of France that is somewhat timeless. It's obvious that it's not modern day, but most people would be able to determine where the painting is taking place, and understand that it is depicting life in France.

Non-representational: Succulent Eggplants

Beatriz Milhaze's Succulent Eggplants is a non-representational artwork because it represents nothing of the objective world. In Milhaze's description of Succulent Eggplants on the Museum of Modern Art website, she says that the title has nothing to do with the actual painting. The title is representative of something really good and something that gives pleasure, an eggplant, and that is its relationship to the painting. The painting should be something really good that gives pleasure to people. In fact, she says, maybe it gives too much beauty. 

Abstract: Cornfield Near Northfield, MA

Wolf Kahn's Cornfield Near Northfield, MA is an example of abstract art because we're not completely sure what we're looking at. It's fairly clear that it's a landscape of some sort, but the detail in the painting doesn't give much clue to what it actually is. It seems it is fall in the painting, as the trees in the foreground have a lot of color on them, assuming they are trees. In the book, Kahn talks about how the less detail a painting has, the better it is for him. That clearly comes through in this painting. 

Representational: The Portrait

Belgian surrealist Rene Magritte's The Portrait is an example of representational art, because it depicts something that is close to being real. In fact, the painting almost looks like a picture, except for an eye staring back at the viewer from the middle of what looks to be a pancake. I personally enjoy the painting, as the eye is completely unexpected. 

Form/Content: Black Cross

Kazimir Malevich created Black Cross as a way to relate to the Russian people's religiousness. The form of the painting is the black cross set on a white background. The content is the symbolism of the Russian people's simple devoutness. Interestingly, Malevich's paintings fell out of favor with the people they were created for (normal, everyday people in Russia), and he was eventually persecuted by Joseph Stalin, who had a distinct distrust for modern artists.  

The American Collection #6: The Flag is Bleeding #2

In The American Collection #6: The Flag is Bleeding #2, Faith Ringgold is expressing her feelings and beliefs, which is one of the roles of an artist. While most Americans view the flag with patriotic fervor, Ringgold is expressing her viewpoint that the American flag has proverbial "blood on its hands."

Running Shoe

Running Shoes by Kane Kwei illustrates making an object or structure more usable in his use of a running shoe as a coffin. ne would assume the intended recipient of such a coffin would be an athlete or runner of some sort, and that the coffin would have special meaning.

Camille on the Beach at Trouville

To illustrate an artist creating a record of their time and place, I chose Monet's "Camille on the Beach at Trouville." It is clear from the painting that the artist is representing a (to us) bygone era. The dress of the woman and the others in the painting indicate an earlier time. 

Fireflies on the Water

To illustrate how artists help us see the world in new and innovative ways, I chose Yayoi Kusama's Fireflies on the Water. I chose this piece of art because it appears to show human figures among the dots, almost as a reminder that we're really just dots in the grand scheme of things. To me, it signifies how small we are in the universe, and maybe that we should take ourselves a little less seriously.