Pablo Picasso
"Crucifixion"
In this painting I see many things. It is a
very colourful work of art it is mainly made of yellow colours as well as blue in
different tonalities. In the top left corner I see a rock. This rock is held by
an abstract red structure. As I look down there are a couple of legs and in the
bottom I see people. These people are lying down in very uncomfortable
positions as if they were dead. In the middle of the picture there is a white
cross and a body on the cross. The body that is crucified has a monster shape
figure biting a wound, the wound was made by what it seems to be a soldier on a
horse who is riding on top of what seems to be an Ancient Roman building. To
the right of this image it seems to quite sufficiently show more abstract type
of art and the shapes are harder to distinguish, however I can notice a happy
face with red glasses. In the bottom there is people playing a game. I see also
legs and boots.
When I see this painting I feel like there
is a deep meaning behind it. I see the story of the crucifixion, and some of
the factors behind it. I feel some of the pain that Jesus must have felt.
Seeing this painting helps me understand what the true meaning of Christianity
is. I believe the painter wanted to portray the struggle of Christ as he
painted a metaphorical rock on the back of what is meant to be Jesus, showing
his struggle through the pain that he must have felt. Jesus was made to carry
the cross for a long period of time before he was crucified. According to the
story, the Romans stabbed Jesus with a spear to the heart where the soldier
represents this in the panting. There is obvious controversy in this painting such
as the Jews, which Picasso wanted to represent as a mockery to the culture and
society. He portrayed them in his art as being detached from reality and not
worried of the ruined society around them.
This is clearly what I see as being religious
criticism as well as an opinion. Picasso must have been thinking of a way he
could describe his judgment of what’s happening. I think he did a very good job
of this by using the struggles of Jesus in his art to show what he thinks of
the situation and the causes that brought Jesus to be crucified. This piece of
art is obviously abstract and makes many symbolic representations. To the
normal eye it simply represents the story of Jesus but there is deeper meaning
behind it.
Christians are told the story of Jesus, and
as a Christian myself I have been taught this and don’t question the events,
however if we analyse the story it is more than Jesus dying for our sins and
giving us relief for all those things that society refer as wrong. The story of
Jesus is more a way to remind us that we are humans and we make mistakes. The
story of Jesus tells that humans are hungry for power. There is no way to
understand the truth behind this story however it is important to always be
proactive and objective. Learn from our mistakes and not make the same mistakes
over and over.
I Really enjoy this kind of art because
despite their abstract elements, they always try to say something, however they
are not direct and allows the mind to be creative, to give our own meaning to
the work. As I am a graphic artist this looks like a mess to me, however where
there is order there is mess. Contrast and balance are part of our environment
and this is what makes this painting interesting and original.
Leo Fender
"Spaghetti"Fender logo design
This is a logo. It says fender. I see free
writing and also a mixture of capital and small letters. The curves on the
letters are quite smooth and refined. The legibility is quite good. The F looks
like a seven and the E looks like a heart, the d is very clear and the r is
very modern. This font is very effective by the look of it. It allows the
reading to be pleasant and attractive.
It reminds me of freedom and music. It
reminds me of rock and roll and its movement. This calligraphic logo makes me
think of Joe Satriani, Slash, Jimmy Hendrix and all those famous guitarists
that have made history for years and set the bar for future musicians.
This writing brings me to the 50s when
electric guitars were starting to become popular. However by this time music
such as rock and roll blues were not seen as they are seen these days. Those
times were about freedom and teenagers looking for a new age. This is not a
solid rigid font.
When I see this font I imaging the making
and possibly the person who produced these guitars used his signature to write
on them. Then I imagine the quality of these guitars made them so popular that
it was necessary to transform it into a logotype. This logotype needed to be
standard legible and it needed to attract young and old people. So I imagine
they made many until they found the best design based on the person signature.
PhilippeHalsman
"Albert Einstein"
In this picture I see a man. The man is in
his 60’s.This is a portrait and it is only showing his head and a small part of
his body. This man has got a few wrinkles on his face, he is also wearing a
mustache which resembles those of a Mexican man. His clothes are neat and under
his sweater, he is wearing a white shirt, also he is holding his pen on his
neck. The expression in his face seems quite sad and neutral at the same time.
His eyes are dark and his hair is completely grey and long up to his neck. The picture is in black and white.
This picture reminds me of those old
pictures where images where captured to keep important records. It reminds me
of wisdom and important achievements. It also reminds me of an old picture that
my grand parents keep of my great great parents.
These kinds of pictures always make me
wonder of the people in the picture and what they did, how they lived and who
they were. His face reminds me of an old man who has to work to provide for his
family even though he should be retired. He looks sad and tired like the face
of someone fed up with lies and bullshit. It makes me wonder what he was
thinking when this picture was taken. I also ask myself what the photographer
wanted to achieve by taking this picture, as it is obviously a staged image.
I think this picture was taken during or
after an interview. It could have been taken either in his place of work or
even at home. He looks quite comfortable in this picture, which indicates he is
somewhere familiar to him. Certainly he
was a famous person who was so famous he didn’t even brush his hair. He is
dressed quite casually which suggests he is comfortable with whoever he is
with. I try and understand through this image what personality this man has.
His eyes look very soft and caring but the wrinkles on his face show years of
hard work. I wonder what was happening in this mans life before this picture
was taken and also after.
This image has a historical impact on
photography and history. It is a record of the evolution of photography because
it is in black and white. It is a trace
of the life of this man. It shows just a moment of his life in a picture but in
his face we see many years of his life.
I really like this picture. It shows a
significant human being. It captures perfectly an insight of the time this
picture was taken and how effortlessly the photographer has captured a great
personality in one picture.
Shepard Fairey
"Guns and Roses"
This is an image is possibly graffiti or a
poster. In the image, there are three
guns all of them of a different kind. They are all pointing towards the sky and
there are hands holding the guns as if victory was being claimed. From the
cannon of the guns, there are red roses coming out. The hands and the guns seem
to have been made as stencil. The roses and the background however seem more
digital or as a drawing. The background is red and there are white lines coming
out of the biggest rose in the middle.
This image reminds me of street and
political art. This image reminds me of war and all of those people who is
against it. This picture reminds me of all of the voices of all of the victims
of war who scream for justice peace and love.
I wonder when is going to be the end of all
the wars in the world. I wonder if one day, people will learn to live with what
they have and be happy about it. I wonder if peace is not just a utopia.
This painting was done because the author
was probably a victim of the war.
I think the artist got inspired by the news
and all the horrible things that happen in the world. Maybe the painter was part of a movement or
he was just an activist. I also reckon these demonstrations of art get people
in trouble sometimes.
Political and street art have a deep impact
in society. Political art inspires movements and influences people to become
rebellious and fight against the system or whatever the art is denouncing. This image has a lot of contrast on it. It
shows violence and destruction, but at the same time, it transmits love. The
colors are also reds, which can mean both bloods from the casualties of the war
and love as it is always represented in hearths and red roses.
This painting is very nice because it
speaks of love and it does it in a way that inspires people, however it does it
in a way that doesn’t hurt or offend anyone. One day I would like to do art
like this. Art with purpose the purpose of helping people.
Steven Heller,
"Yes we can"
In this illustration/ poster I see an old
picture of president Obama when he was young. On the left side there is a picture of
President Obama. The picture loos like a restoration of a black and white
picture, however, all what is supposed to be black is as if had a blue cooling
effect. His shirt collar is also been modified in a way that it looks red. The
other side of the picture has house with a big billboard on the top that says
“YES WE CAN”. The house looks more like a shade and it’s a solid building with
white lines that look like lights.
This image reminds me political campaigns
or maybe those cartoons that appear in the newspaper. The picture within the
whole poster reminds me of my parent’s college picture. It also reminds me of
the fashion at the time.
This image makes me wonder that things had
change so dramatically in so short time that the president of one of the most
xenophobic countries in the world is African American. It makes me wonder if
this is not enough to end up with feelings such as discrimination and
intolerance.
This poster could have been designed for a
political campaign or maybe to ridicule the president. I imagine the artist
though of placing a picture of a young person who with hard work managed to
become a great political figure. I think he was thinking of a way to suggest
people to vote for Obama by showing the public a house, which seem to be one of
the issues in the US.
This advertisement is very effective
because is clean and the most important things are easily explained. Also there
is not much mess and colours that may create distractions from the main message.
Milton Glaser
"I love NY"
This design is been broken up into four quarters
the top half is an “I”, after that there is a red heart, the bottom half in the
bottom is an “N” and a “Y”. The font is
very bold and black and it’s a serif kind.
The curves in the serifs are very smooth. The 4 figures that form this
design have been aligned as two on the top and two in the bottom, the same as
from left to right making the design look like a symmetrical squared
composition.
This image reminds me of tourism and how
the government of the different countries in the world promotes their cities as
touristic destinations. It reminds me of the importance of trade and the importance
of a dynamic economy. It also reminds me of those souvenir shops close to
touristic destinations where tourist buy presents for family and friends. It
makes me feel as if I was at the airport waiting for my plane to depart while I
window-shop around the shops and restaurants. It also reminds me of New York
and American movies.
It makes me think if traveling is just
about spending money. It makes me wonder if every time I buy souvenirs I am
promoting commercial traveling. At the same time it makes me feel like
traveling down to New York. It makes me think, how amazing would it be to ride
on the New York Subway and see the amazing buildings and the bridge and the
world trade center.
The story behind this logo could have been
about a commercial promotion for people to visit New York. I imagine the
government of New York wanted to design a logo to invite people to Visit New
York. The graphic designer could have though of the simplest and most effective
way to say this. I suppose the designer was a New Yorker and I suppose he
wanted to express his own feelings, after that I imagine he needed to organize
this elements in a clean symmetrical and clean way. The “I” gives personality
to the work. The heart transmits the feeling of love. The word New York has been
shorten to “NY”, maybe because this is the way we commonly refer as New York in
sports so the public is familiar with this abbreviation.
This Logo is very simple but at the same
time is very effective. It doesn’t have many components however the message is
very clear. I would say that publicity and merchandise and advertisement play a
very important role in the development and promotion of works such as this one.
The capital invested in this kind of logos and advertisement is huge and
therefore these logos are able to reach large amounts of public. The logo
itself is very pleasant to the eye making easy to remember. The creativity put
into it seems as anyone can do it, however it is necessary to be very creative
in order to design an effective logo like this.
I personally like this logo, it goes
straight to the point and it tells the reader every time they read it that they
love New York. It pushes people into believe that they love something that they
don’t know
