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| Salvador Dali Museum/St. Petersburg Florida photo by Elizabeth Gordon |
Aristotle
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Aristotle on Art
Aristotle
Welcome Croatia, Guatemala, Armenia
It is so nice to see you again. There are some larger countries that we see everyday and others that we do not see often enough. It is nice to have you checking in again. So lets take a peak at the arts of these wonderful countries and their art. If you click on each country name it will take you to further links about that country's art.
Croatia
Guatemala
Armenia
Croatia
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| Baroque Art of Croatia from google image |
Guatemala
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| Imelda Colat of Guatamala from google image |
Armenia
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| interior of Armenian Cathedral from google image |
Rabbit's Moon Studio Promotes Understanding and Acceptance through Art
There is something that I thought important to post for everyone who visits this site.
Rabbits's Moon Studio is a site that promotes and supports diversity. We are a prejudice free site. We embrace all peoples, we support equality among all. We support the hope that art will bond people together in understanding, acceptance and peace. The most important thing in this world is love and tolerance of each others differences. There is too much hate, violence, and intolerance in this world. Rabbit's Moon Studio intends for this to be a safe site for all. All will feel accepted here with equal respect in the name of art. It is our belief that Art can be the bridge that bonds us together.
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| from google image |
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
The Raku Sisters
Monica and Milli Poster Girls for Raku!
Monica is one of my classmates and a very good friend. We met in clay class and formed a friendship that spans age and culture. Monica is from Peru and an art history major who works in museum education. Her sister Milli spans the globe on cruise ships and stops in every once and awhile for a bit of art fun. Monica threw the pot, Millie decorated it and helped with the Raku process. Art bonds people, it builds friendships and build bridges between cultures. Look at those smiles! Wow Art is magic!!!
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| Millie and Monica photo by elizabeth gordon |
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| Millie pulling the pot from oxygen reduction canister |
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| Raku pot glazed with sagent green |
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| Millie, the proud artist |
Monday, May 14, 2012
Meret Oppenheim
"One is used to artists living a life that suits them and to citizens turning a blind eye to this,
But when a woman does the same.
They all open their eyes."
"One is used to artists living a life that suits them and to citizens turning a blind eye to this,
But when a woman does the same.
They all open their eyes."
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| Meret Oppenheim from google image |
I have always loved Meret's work. I will tell you a story, that if you went to art school, you may have had a similar experience. When I was studying art at the university I took clay and sculpture the same semester with different professors. It was the late 60's early 70's at a time when we were also studying the latest art out of New York. Influenced by the new art I was observing from NYC I made a large pot in ceramics with holes and spikes beside the holes. I lined the inside with fur...the idea being the push pull of wanting to touch. But the spikes added danger or caution to the desire to touch. Well, a big argument started between the clay professor who said it wasn't clay take it to sculpture class and the sculpture professor said it wasn't sculpture, take it to clay class. I still think it was a good piece and I was just ahead of my time!!!
Welcome Malta
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| George French Malta from google image |
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Happy Mothers Day
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| Alternative Universe by Elizabeth Gordon photo by Elizabeth Gordon The detail of the work of art shows my Mother in her 30's. It depicts a time she is alone while my Father is away during in WWII. |
Today in the United States we celebrate Mother's Day. We take our Mothers a nice card, flowers or a gift and our families gather to take Mother out for a special meal. Today I will go out to see my 99 year old Mother in the nursing home where she is in an alzheimer/dementia unit that she has been in for 9 years since a massive stroke that impaired her brain. She still knows me and can still say on most days I LOVE YOU. I thought I would let you celebrate with me and Mother's all over the world. They bring us into this world, they create us and if they are loving Mothers there will never be a bond so special in all our lives. A Mother who loves well is a treasure beyond all, and I have had that gift in one of the most loving exceptional people I have ever known. So lets take time to honor these women who are so very special and give us the greatest gift, life!
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| Mary Cassat American Artist painting in Paris from google image |
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| Whistlers Mother by Whistler photo from google image |
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| Pablo Picasso from google image |
Welcome Ethiopia!!!
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| Ethiopian Artitst, unknown from google image |
Welcome Ethiopian it is so nice to have a new country come aboard. We look forward to learning more about Ethiopian Art and Culture.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
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| La Familia /Barcelona Gaudi photo Elizabeth Gordon |
Leo Tolstoy(click)
It might seem odd to pair a photograph of Gaudi's(click)Church Architecture with Leo Tolstoy, but it tells a story about the highest and the best of ourselves. Gaudi worked a good bit of his later life on the designs and construction of La Sagrada Familia,(click) he actually died while begging money for the continuation of the building. When I visited in the early 2000's it was estimated the workers working today on the cathedral would not live to see it finished in their life time. Gaudi had passion and talent, but people recognized that what he had started was so brilliant and exceptional it was worth building on another hundred years!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Ways of Seeing
"The way we see things is affected by what we know or what we believe" quote by John Berger from his book, Ways of Seeing(click)
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| The Key to Dreams Marcel Duchamp from google image |
That is a powerful statement. Think about it a moment. We readily accept what we see as real, it is what we see it is...or so we think. But we all are raised differently in different environments and with different beliefs. How much does this effect the way we see? A great deal is the answer.
In the Middle Ages people believed literally in the existence of hell, so as Berger puts it, fire must have had a very different meaning for them. Fire, ashes, and flame were literal images of hell if you can imagine. What we see as reality today, would be very different if we were viewing it through a different set of filters in, say 2212.
If,( as Marcel Duchamp did) we put a picture of one thing and call it another, which are we perceiving that it is? It is the same as when one is in love, that person is the most beautiful person to us, we transform them into a vision no words can match. Our beliefs and emotions color what we see. In some cultures a black cat is good luck and in others bad luck...is some cultures black is associated with death and in others it is white. Here is another small example...I grew up in Florida where we have black ants that bite and really hurt. When living in the Philippines I am sitting on a beach and get covered with black ants. I jump up in horror and start killing them and screaming....my friend looked me quizzically and somewhat amused and ask me why I was doing that, those ants don't harm, they don't bite! It turns out the Filipino black ants don't hurt you at all, but look the same as the Florida ones that do! My environment colored what I saw and I my reaction to what I saw.
So when we look at a work of art we bring our experiences and perceptions to it. The artist also brings theirs. Berger says every image embodies a way of seeing. Even in a photograph, the photographer chooses the angle, the focus, the and his choice of subject matter is reflected in his choice of subject matter. And if you think deeper about it every image is in a way man made. Berger goes into great depth about how we see and perceive things. It is a very interesting and deeply thoughtful book, but not an easy read.
Duchamp was a Surrealist, it was a time of Freud and analyzing dreams, interpreting our interpersonal relationships differently and how people related to the times they lived in. It was also during a time of great turmoil when one questioned reality at all.
You may not like Surrealism, it may not be pretty or comfortable, but Duchamp was brilliant...he used art to help us think deeply about the world we live in, what we accepted as reality and what we thought of as art. Art is not always about pretty or copying. But now you must also ask yourself when you do look at a photo or painting is it what I see or is it what the artists brought forth with his own ideas about what flowers look like, or a landscape or a portrait. Now you must look deeper and question more. Questioning is not alway comfortable, it knocks us out of our status quo, it doesn't let us off easy...but it challenges us to think and grow.
Marcel Duchamp even asks us, "What is Art?" with the creation of R. Mutt.
In the Middle Ages people believed literally in the existence of hell, so as Berger puts it, fire must have had a very different meaning for them. Fire, ashes, and flame were literal images of hell if you can imagine. What we see as reality today, would be very different if we were viewing it through a different set of filters in, say 2212.
If,( as Marcel Duchamp did) we put a picture of one thing and call it another, which are we perceiving that it is? It is the same as when one is in love, that person is the most beautiful person to us, we transform them into a vision no words can match. Our beliefs and emotions color what we see. In some cultures a black cat is good luck and in others bad luck...is some cultures black is associated with death and in others it is white. Here is another small example...I grew up in Florida where we have black ants that bite and really hurt. When living in the Philippines I am sitting on a beach and get covered with black ants. I jump up in horror and start killing them and screaming....my friend looked me quizzically and somewhat amused and ask me why I was doing that, those ants don't harm, they don't bite! It turns out the Filipino black ants don't hurt you at all, but look the same as the Florida ones that do! My environment colored what I saw and I my reaction to what I saw.
So when we look at a work of art we bring our experiences and perceptions to it. The artist also brings theirs. Berger says every image embodies a way of seeing. Even in a photograph, the photographer chooses the angle, the focus, the and his choice of subject matter is reflected in his choice of subject matter. And if you think deeper about it every image is in a way man made. Berger goes into great depth about how we see and perceive things. It is a very interesting and deeply thoughtful book, but not an easy read.
Duchamp was a Surrealist, it was a time of Freud and analyzing dreams, interpreting our interpersonal relationships differently and how people related to the times they lived in. It was also during a time of great turmoil when one questioned reality at all.
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| R. Mutt 1917 Marcel Duchamp from google image |
Marcel Duchamp even asks us, "What is Art?" with the creation of R. Mutt.
THE WEEK IN REVIEW
Well, it is not truly world art day today, but I loved the image so well and it seemed to speak to our beliefs that people through art can build a more peaceful world and reach out to each other in the common language of the arts.
I will list all our world visitors from the week below, but I do want to highlight one visitor from Syria. I can't even imagine how you got out on the web to get to us. I know in some counties it is very difficult to get on the general internet world wide. I want to honor those who do and find a way to connect with the world at large. I know in some cases it may even be risky to do so. It is my hope our belief in art and the good it can do in this world will help lead the way to a more peaceful world. Art is a common denominator, for no matter how different our cultures are or our beliefs are is the language we can speak to understand and share. And I should say the arts in this case, for music, dance, writing, drama, and visual arts all bring us together. We here at Rabbits Moon Studio honor you all!
United States
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Israel
Serbia
Netherlands
Germany
Ukraine
Saudia Arabia
Turkey
Finland
Singapore
China
Malaysia
South Africa
Brazil
Australia
New Zealand
Russia
India
Japan
China
(a note, the app totals countries by numbers of visits and some times I don't catch an individual country during the week and at the end the app drops them...so I apologize, for if you have visited us and don't see your country listed I do mean to honor you also!)
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| from google image |
Well, it is not truly world art day today, but I loved the image so well and it seemed to speak to our beliefs that people through art can build a more peaceful world and reach out to each other in the common language of the arts.
I will list all our world visitors from the week below, but I do want to highlight one visitor from Syria. I can't even imagine how you got out on the web to get to us. I know in some counties it is very difficult to get on the general internet world wide. I want to honor those who do and find a way to connect with the world at large. I know in some cases it may even be risky to do so. It is my hope our belief in art and the good it can do in this world will help lead the way to a more peaceful world. Art is a common denominator, for no matter how different our cultures are or our beliefs are is the language we can speak to understand and share. And I should say the arts in this case, for music, dance, writing, drama, and visual arts all bring us together. We here at Rabbits Moon Studio honor you all!
United States
United Kingdom
France
Italy
Israel
Serbia
Netherlands
Germany
Ukraine
Saudia Arabia
Turkey
Finland
Singapore
China
Malaysia
South Africa
Brazil
Australia
New Zealand
Russia
India
Japan
China
(a note, the app totals countries by numbers of visits and some times I don't catch an individual country during the week and at the end the app drops them...so I apologize, for if you have visited us and don't see your country listed I do mean to honor you also!)
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Before I Die
There are many interesting and wonderful artists doing great things around this big world of ours. I thought I would bring to your attention a few of them. If you would like to add to the conversation you may email with names and projects you would like to see highlighted as well.
Candy Chang(click) is one of the artists I would like to introduce you to. Candy, welcome to Rabbit's Moon Studio New Artist Series! Not long after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and in particular the 9th ward of New Orleans Candy brought attention to the plight in one of her public art projects, "Before I Die". She painted the front of one of the ruined homes with a black chalk board paint and invited people at will and on their own to fill in the blanks Before I die......the answers are fascinating and the interactive elements of this art project with a general public that become part of the art are amazing. This one of many art projects that involve the viewer in a response that adds to a whole. Sidewalk Psychiatry(click) and I wish this was (click)are others. I love art that involves others, that makes people think, that does good in a community. Candy Chang's work is certainly does that! It is interesting and the concepts are fascinating. You can have my velvet Elvis, I would rather have Candy Chang anyway!
Through the years I have met many people, kids and adults alike, friends and family members, acquaintances that just can not understand nor accept modern art. As a person who has a major in art education in undergraduate and a Masters Degree with an additional breath of post graduate courses in the arts I find it most amazing when my educated friends have a hard time with any art that is not representational. Art is so much more than copying or illustrating, and modern art deals more with the intellect and ideas than any form of art. That discussion can be for another post... I think I will do a series on isms, from a book called ISIMS which helps everyone to understand the different movements in art and why they happened and why they were important. This is one of those projects, one of those pieces of art that goes beyond a nice painting of a flower, or a seascape...it is a concept...conceptual art. It interacts with people, this is almost communal art is a way for it involves the viewers to participate in the making of the art project.
Candy Chang(click) is one of the artists I would like to introduce you to. Candy, welcome to Rabbit's Moon Studio New Artist Series! Not long after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and in particular the 9th ward of New Orleans Candy brought attention to the plight in one of her public art projects, "Before I Die". She painted the front of one of the ruined homes with a black chalk board paint and invited people at will and on their own to fill in the blanks Before I die......the answers are fascinating and the interactive elements of this art project with a general public that become part of the art are amazing. This one of many art projects that involve the viewer in a response that adds to a whole. Sidewalk Psychiatry(click) and I wish this was (click)are others. I love art that involves others, that makes people think, that does good in a community. Candy Chang's work is certainly does that! It is interesting and the concepts are fascinating. You can have my velvet Elvis, I would rather have Candy Chang anyway!
Through the years I have met many people, kids and adults alike, friends and family members, acquaintances that just can not understand nor accept modern art. As a person who has a major in art education in undergraduate and a Masters Degree with an additional breath of post graduate courses in the arts I find it most amazing when my educated friends have a hard time with any art that is not representational. Art is so much more than copying or illustrating, and modern art deals more with the intellect and ideas than any form of art. That discussion can be for another post... I think I will do a series on isms, from a book called ISIMS which helps everyone to understand the different movements in art and why they happened and why they were important. This is one of those projects, one of those pieces of art that goes beyond a nice painting of a flower, or a seascape...it is a concept...conceptual art. It interacts with people, this is almost communal art is a way for it involves the viewers to participate in the making of the art project.
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| A Public Art Project by Candy Chang in New Orleans, Louisiana |
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Quote on The Importance of Art and Artist by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou: That’s true. I do believe that art is as important to the human psyche and physical body as air is, as oxygen, as water. And alas, because it’s not something we can quantify reliably, we tend to think art is a luxury.
Art is not a luxury. The artist is so necessary in our lives. The artist explains to us, or at least asks the questions which must be asked. And when there’s a question asked, there’s an answer somewhere. I don’t believe a question can be asked which doesn’t have an answer somewhere in the universe. That’s what the artist is supposed to do, to liberate us from our ignorance.
from an interview by Shambala Magazine of Maya Angelou
Art is not a luxury. The artist is so necessary in our lives. The artist explains to us, or at least asks the questions which must be asked. And when there’s a question asked, there’s an answer somewhere. I don’t believe a question can be asked which doesn’t have an answer somewhere in the universe. That’s what the artist is supposed to do, to liberate us from our ignorance.
from an interview by Shambala Magazine of Maya Angelou
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| Maya Angelou From Google Image |
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
A NOD TO A PASSING ARTIST
THANK YOU MAURICE SENDACK FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL ART YOU BROUGHT TO US THROUGH THE YEARS!
As an art teacher I read many a Maurice Sendack Book to children over the years. The children loved his work and the support of children's fears and doubts. I think he helped many a child in so many ways. His art was rich and mysterious, it drew children it. Sendack gave a great gift that will go on living long after this day we all have to say good bye.
THANK YOU MAURICE SENDACK FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL ART YOU BROUGHT TO US THROUGH THE YEARS!
As an art teacher I read many a Maurice Sendack Book to children over the years. The children loved his work and the support of children's fears and doubts. I think he helped many a child in so many ways. His art was rich and mysterious, it drew children it. Sendack gave a great gift that will go on living long after this day we all have to say good bye.
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| Where the Wild Things Are/Maurice Sendack from google image |
JUST THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE WHAT I SAW FIRST THING THIS MORNING! And (this is just the start of the day!)
HELLO WORLD IT IS SO NICE TO SEE YOU!
HELLO WORLD IT IS SO NICE TO SEE YOU!
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| FROM GOOGLE IMAGE |
DID YOU KNOW THERE ARE OVER 7,000 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES SPOKEN ON EARTH?! AMAZING ISN'T IT? And isn't it nice we can visit in arts sake right here? Now I will look up Thank you in different languages!
Pageviews by Countries
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Photo by Ann Suggs
Growth is an erratic forward movement: two steps forward, one step back. Remember that and be very gentle with yourself.
Julia Cameron
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