Artist research: Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe
In today's lessons, we got acquainted with two artists who created as a couple in real life. Alfred Stieglitz was an American photographer (born in New Jersey, 1864-1946). He was this artist which decided to prove that photography is an art like painting or drawing. His photography was inspired by realism (art movement) and they showed normal life of those times, but they also had some hidden meanings. Good example of this will be his photography called "The Steerage", which is one of the most important photographs of the 20th century.
This photography represent both realism and symbolism. It is a black and white photo, which artists shot in year 1907. This picture has many "layers". It symbolizes the great immigration movement of his era, showing many different types of people, and despite the fact they are all on the same ship, we can clearly see the difference between two groups of people. We got upper class (wealthier) on the upper deck, and we have the lower class (poorer) located on the lower deck. I noticed that even the background between this two group is different. The people in the bottom of this picture had a black, dark background, while the people on the top have a light, bright background. Another symbol on this picture is a ladder, which shows the way to the top, where not everybody has access.
Other famous photos of this artist, like "Venice"(1894) or "Sun Rays"(1889) show normal, everyday life of people of his era, the essence of the real life, but also hidden meanings (symbolism), like happiness or loneliness.
Realism: it is the Art Movement of the 19th and 20th century, where artists portrayed the surrounding world, like landscapes, life of people, or industrialization of the world. The main idea of realism was the focus on the real life journey.
Second artist is Georgia O'keeffe (1887-1986) American painter (mainly oil base paintings). She was also the wife of Alfred Stieglitz, and they both influenced and inspired each other. There is a lot of symbolism in her painting, for example "Dead Rabbit with Cooper Pot".
This painting has central composition, and the subject matter is death. The artist showed various emotions and encouraged the viewer to reflect on his own life. Her art work represents also Modernism. Today she is best known for her large-format paintings of natural subjects, like bones, skulls or flowers.
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Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe
This is a very well written and directed post, demonstrating a good understanding of the subject. This is much closer to the level expected of a student such as you Adam. Please keep this commitment to your blog up for the rest of the term. A lot of what you have posted so far does not come up to this standard. I would like to see some posts on your self study regarding the progress you are making on your project over the next few days - sketches and research based on the suggested sign off research elements. You also need to post your Sign Off sheet and your Major Project plan as soon as possible.
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