Chantelle's blog: 2013

Sunday, 19 May 2013

Ancient Origins of Halloween

Samhain was a feast celebrated by Celts, which now a days is known as Halloween. Celts divided the year in four major holidays. Samhain feast was one of them, which marked the beginning of winter, this day was very important for Celts since they were pastoral people on this day crops were harvested and stored for the winter months. They also believed that at the time of Samhain, the ghosts of the dead were able to join with the living, because they thought the souls of those who died during that year traveled to the other world. Therefore they used to get together to sacrifice animals, fruits and vegetables. They also lit bonfires for the dead to help them on their journey and as well to keep them away from the living. During this celebration they used to wear costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins. Samhain became the Halloween as we know it today because of Christian’s missionaries who tried to change the religious practice of the Celts. Christian efforts were repaid as they succeeded in making big transformations on Pagan Holidays such as Samhain. Druids who were Celtic priests were considered as being worshippers of the Devil as they represented the rival religion. Celts insisted in believing in the supernatural creatures, while the church defined them as being dangerous and malicious, so followers of the old religion went into hiding and were considered as witches. In 1000 A.D., the church made November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to respect the dead. It is thought that the church wanted to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a more religious feast. All Souls Day which eventually now is Halloween was celebrated in a very similar way to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes. The American Halloween tradition of "trick-or-treat" probably dates back to the early All Souls' Day feastival in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called "soul cakes" in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The giving out of soul cakes was encouraged by the church as a way to replace the ancient practice of leaving food and wine for spirits. It started as a Celtic end-of-summer festival during which people felt especially close to their dead relatives and friends, for which they set places at the dinner table, left treats on doorsteps and along the side of the road and lit candles to help loved ones find their way back to the spirit world.

Witches Masks Mumming on Halloween. 2013. Witches Masks Mumming on Halloween. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/celtsmyth/a/lochalloween_3.htm. [Accessed 14 May 2013].

Halloween — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts. 2013. Halloween — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.history.com/topics/halloween. [Accessed 14 May 2013].

Celtic Halloween Beliefs - Samhain. 2013. Celtic Halloween Beliefs - Samhain. [ONLINE] Available at: http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/celtsmyth/a/lochalloween.htm. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Fashion now a days inspired from Celtic

Fashion

Don is an Irish fashion designer born in 1966, whose inspirations come basically from anywhere from Celtic designs, books, and prints etc. When he was a child he was fascinated by his mother's fine clothing in Ballyheigue. O’Neill was able to study to be a fashion designer, after winning a full scholarship to the Barbara Bourke College of Fashion Design. Now he designs clothes for the stars which was a dream came true for Don O’Neill.

For the collection THEIA, Don was inspired from the Greek Goddess Athena because she was a courageous warrior Goddess who fiercely protected her people. He wanted to show the THEIA woman with this sense of power and confidence that will help her step forward, feeling brave, beautiful and strong as Athena this collection is currently sold in over 350 stores globally including Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Irish designer Don O'Neill takes New York City by storm | Irish Entertainment | IrishCentral. 2013. Irish designer Don O'Neill takes New York City by storm | Irish Entertainment | IrishCentral. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/Irish-designer-Don-ONeill-takes-New-York-City-by-storm-118498944.html. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

The Origins of Celtic Tattoos

It is thought that Celtic tattoos were first seen on the Picts, who were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Medieval Celtic people, who lived alongside the British Islands, which Historians think that they tattooed themselves by stabbing their skin with hot sticks to create eternal designs on their skin. Later on they discovered a blue pigment which came from the leaves of a plant they called the Woad plant. They used to do so by harvesting this plant and by leaving the leaves to dry. Then the leaves are boiled and strained, and boiled again to obtain a thick, sticky paste. This paste was then tapped into the skin with a needle like equipment forcing it under the skin layers, to create permanent designs. These tattoos were most common among Celtic warriors, to intimidate their opponents. Celtic tattoos are seen till today especially the Celtic Cross.

Celtic Tattoos - History and Meaning. 2013. Celtic Tattoos - History and Meaning. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/celtic-tattoos.html. [Accessed 17 May 2013].

Tattoo Design Ideas: Celtic Design Tattoos. 2013. Tattoo Design Ideas: Celtic Design Tattoos. [ONLINE] Available at: http://greattattoosnow.hubpages.com/hub/celtic-design-tattoos#. [Accessed 17 May 2013].

La Tene

La Tene is a style named after a site found in Switzerland. Its designs are inspired from the Etruscans and Scythian art (Greek) such as curvilinear lines, spirals, foliage, vegetables, vines and lotus flowers designed using compasses and French curves. This time was a time of Celtic expansion and migration and the time of formation of the mythology. The La Tene Celts settled in Spain in 450 BC, in Northern Italy in 400 BC, invaded Rome in 390 BC, invaded Greece in 279 BC, and invaded Turkey in 270 BC. In 200 BC, they also occupied the lands that are now Britain, the Netherlands, Brittany, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. Art Nouveau takes a lot of its motifs from this era; some examples are the Holcomb Mirror, Wandsworth Shield, and the Battersea Shield.

British Museum - Early Celtic or La Tène art . 2013. British Museum - Early Celtic or La Tène art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/e/early_celtic_or_la_t%C3%A8ne_art.aspx. [Accessed 17 May 2013].

Celts - Hallstatt and La Tene cultures. 2013. Celts - Hallstatt and La Tene cultures. [ONLINE] Available at: http://celts.etrusia.co.uk/celtic_cultures.php. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

The Halstatt culture

5th Century BC Bronze Flagon from Basse-Yutz

The Halstatt culture, begun in the early Iron Age 800 BCE, in Central Europe and Central Austria. The name Halstatt came from an excavation taken near the village of Halstatt in Austria in the 1870s, which contained cremated and buried remains, and also collections of weaponry, armor, jewellery, pottery and other artifacts, many decorated in an early Celtic "symmetrical" style, and some others had motifs from the ancient Danubian tradition mixed with Greek and Etruscans artistic influences. Hallstatt begun in 1200 bc and lasted till 475 bc. Throughout this period, Celts created art which contained geometrical shapes and straight lines and they were also expert craftsmanship of iron and other metals. The era is commonly divided into four phases: (A and B) relating to the pre-Hallstatt era, and (C and D) relating to Hallstatt proper. As the Hallstatt era was finishing, a new style begun, this was known as La Tene period.

Celts - Hallstatt and La Tene cultures. 2013. Celts - Hallstatt and La Tene cultures. [ONLINE] Available at: http://celts.etrusia.co.uk/celtic_cultures.php. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Hallstatt Celtic Culture: Definition, History, Art, Language: Iron Age Celts on Upper Danube. 2013. Hallstatt Celtic Culture: Definition, History, Art, Language: Iron Age Celts on Upper Danube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/cultural-history-of-ireland/hallstatt-celtic-culture.htm#characteristics. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Celtic

The lands Celtic people lived in were Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Greece, Spain, Northern Italy, England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. These people were distant from other European peoples of that time; because of the different language they spoke, which later on was referred to as Celtic. Celtic Culture had two different periods, the first one being the Hallstatt dating from 1200 bc to 475 bc. Throughout this period, Celts created art which contained geometrical shapes and straight lines and they were also expert craftsmanship of iron and other metals. As the Hallstatt era was finishing, a new style was beginning to flourish, which was known as La Tene period. During this period there were a lot of changes which included new decorative art styles, transportation improvements, agricultural progression, and economic improvement. Also Celts were divided into tribes of 20,000 to 250,000 people and were ruled by Kings.

Glamoury: An Introduction to the Celts. 2013. Glamoury: An Introduction to the Celts. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glamoury.50megs.com/intro.html. [Accessed 15 May 2013].

Celtic Europe. 2013. Celtic Europe. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.watson.org/~leigh/celts.html. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

The Celts. 2013. The Celts. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/celts.html. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Abstract Expressionism

Abstract Expressionism is a term referred to a movement that started in the 1940s and 1950s, also sometimes referred as the New York School or, as Action Painting. The crisis of war and its results were the key to understand the concerns of the Abstract Expressionists. These young artists were concerned by man's dark side and by human irrationality and weakness, so they wanted to express their concerns in a new art. Some artists involved in this movement were Barnett Newman and Willem de Kooning, who both painted and handled art differently, but they were linked by abstraction which conveyed different emotions. This style was also noticed in the sculpture of David Smith, Ibram Lassaw and others, the photography of Aaron Siskind and painting of Mark Tobey, among other works which were of less famous artists. Early on, the Abstract Expressionists turned to primitive mythology and ancient art for inspiration some of these artists were Rothko, Pollock, Motherwell, Gottlieb, Newman, and Baziotes, who looked to ancient or primitive cultures for expression. Some characteristics of this style were unusual application of paint, dripping, smudging and by throwing lots of paint onto the canvas.

Abstract Expressionism – Art History Basics on Abstract Expressionism - Mid-1940s - Present. 2013. Abstract Expressionism – Art History Basics on Abstract Expressionism - Mid-1940s - Present. [ONLINE] Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/abstract_expressionism_10one.htm. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Abstract Expressionism | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2013. Abstract Expressionism | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abex/hd_abex.htm. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

THE BAUHAUS (GERMANY) 1919 - 1930s

THE BAUHAUS (GERMANY) 1919 - 1930s

In 1919 a new School opened, called the Bauhaus, which was founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar, Germany. In 1924, the school moved to Dessau, but then in 1933, it was forced to close its doors, under the pressure of the Nazi. The school was a main influence on the development of graphic design, in fact Bauhaus taught typography and was instrumental for the development of sans-serif typography, which was an alternative for the heavily ornate German standard of black letter typography. The aim of the school was to encourage designers to develop products which are simple, rational and functional, that could be manufactured on an industrial scale. Previous movement Art Nouveau designed high quality products which relied on individual craftsmen and skilled people, the result was that products were very expensive and generally were bought only by rich people. On the other hand some other products were manufactured in a basic functional way, with little though being put into its design, which in this case general public could afford. Walter Gropius wanted to unite craftsmanship, architecture and industrial production together. They reduced the complication of designs to simplicity and functionality but products were also aesthetically pleasing.

THE BAUHAUS (GERMANY) 1919 - 1930s. 2013. THE BAUHAUS (GERMANY) 1919 - 1930s. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.technologystudent.com/prddes1/bauhaus1.html. [Accessed 13 May 2013].

The Bauhaus : Design Is History. 2013. The Bauhaus : Design Is History. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.designishistory.com/1920/the-bauhaus/. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Quick History: The Bauhaus & Its Influence Retrospect | Apartment Therapy. 2013. Quick History: The Bauhaus & Its Influence Retrospect | Apartment Therapy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/post-241-93344. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

De Stijl

De Stijl was an art, architectural and design movement, which started in 1917 in Netherlands after World War 1. The name “De Stijl” was taken from a magazine edited by the Dutch painter, designer, writer and critic Theo van Doesburg. Some artists recognized with this movement were the painters Theo van Doesburg who was also the founder of this movement, Piet Mondrian, and also architect Gerrit Reitveld. Their intentions were to simplify art to totally abstraction; they used rectangles and other geometrical shapes, while colour was limited to primary colours and non colours black and white. They also eliminated subject matter and avoided symmetry. One of the most important works was that of Gerrit Rietveld's Schroeder House, which was the most completed, since they managed to build very few of their designs. They were influenced by some ideas of Dada and they managed to combine art and design together, which had been separated since the end of Renaissance.

De Stijl. 2013. De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/destijl/decstijl.htm. [Accessed 14 May 2013].

De Stijl (art) -- Encyclopedia Britannica. 2013. De Stijl (art) -- Encyclopedia Britannica. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/566242/De-Stijl. [Accessed 14 May 2013].

De Stijl : Design Is History. 2013. De Stijl : Design Is History. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.designishistory.com/1920/de-stijl/. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Constructivism

Constructivism was a Russian, art and architectural movement in the 20^th century which rejected the idea of traditional art concern with composition, values and monarchy, mainly with construction and Graphic Design. Objects were created not to express beauty but to study materials and forms of art, which could have leaded to the design of functional objects. Graphic Design in this movement varied from the production of product packaging, logos, posters, book covers, and advertisements which they used to have on them a mixture of different sans serif typefaces, simple, flat, symbolic colours, and extensive white space as part of the design, photography rather than illustrations and also photomontages. Rodchenko's graphic design works became an inspiration to many people in the western world including Jan Tschichold and also graphic design today. The Constructivists borrowed ideas from Cubism, Suprematism and Futurism. Some artists of this movement were Alexander Rodchenko, Kasmir Malevich and Vladimir Tatlin.

Constructivism : Design Is History. 2013. Constructivism : Design Is History. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.designishistory.com/1920/constructivism/. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Russia Constructivism. 2013. Russia Constructivism. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.csun.edu/~pjd77408/DrD/Art461/LecturesAll/Lectures/lecture07/Constructivism.html. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Constructivism Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. 2013. Constructivism Movement, Artists and Major Works | The Art Story. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-constructivism.htm. [Accessed 16 May 2013].

Tuesday, 9 April 2013

The Daguerreotype Process

Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre was the man who perfected the method of producing direct positive images on a silver-coated copper plate and also who gave his name to the process “Daguerreotype”. The daguerreotype process was the earliest technique of attaining permanent pictures with a camera. He used to experiment and tried to fix the images formed by the camera Obscura around 1824. In 1829 he teamed up with Joseph Nicephore Niepce, a French scientist and inventor, which was the one who had succeeded in securing a picture of the view from his window by using a camera Obscura and a pewter plate coated with bitumen. He called this process heliography (“sun drawing”), but although he had managed to produce a permanent image using the camera Obscura, the exposure time was around 8 hours, which was too long.

As already stated, the first daguerreotypes used Chevalier lenses that were slow. As a result, the camera exposure was too long to take portraits for commercial purposes. In fact, initially the subjects photographs were immobile objects such as street scenes, still life and architectural studies. In order to reduce the exposure times, lenses of a larger diameter started being introduced.

Niepce later abandoned pewter plates and begun to use silver-plated sheets of copper, which he discovered a light sensitive compound, “silver iodide” which was formed because of the vapour from iodine reacted with the silver coating. Niepce died in 1833, after which Daguerre continued to experiment with copper plates coated with silver iodide to produce direct positive pictures. He discovered that the undeveloped image on an exposed plate could be developed with the fumes from warmed mercury. On 19th August, 1839, there was a meeting in Paris and Daguerretype Process was revealed to the world.

An Early Daguerreotype Portrait Studio (1842)

A. A Daguerreotype studio was usually set at the top of a building, which had a glass roof to let in light. B. The person sat down on a chair placed on a raised platform, which could be rotated to face light. The men’s head is held still by a clamp (x).

The stages of making a daguerreotype portrait

1. An assistant have to polish a silver-coated copper plate with long buffer till the surface is highly reflective (y). c. Then the plate is taken to the darkroom, where it is sensitized with chemicals such as chloride of iodine and chloride of bromine, etc. 2. The photographer places the plate into a camera which is placed on a high shelf (z). When the person is ready the photographer removes the camera cover and he times the required exposure with a watch. [In this illustration, the operator is using Wolcott's Mirror Camera, which was fitted with a curved mirror instead of a lens]. 3. The exposed plate is returned to the darkroom where the photographic image which is on the silver plate is developed with the fumes from heated mercury (d). Then the image is “fixed” by bathing the plate in hyposuphate of soda and also it is washed in distilled water (e) and is left to dry. 4. Finally the finished photo is covered by a sheet of protective glass and is either

mounted in a decrritive frame or presented in a leather-bound case. It could also be painted by hand with a dry powdered pigment. The photos in that time were very small and the customers to appreciate details had to use a magnifying glass.

The Daguerreotype Process. 2013. The Daguerreotype Process. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.photohistory-sussex.co.uk/dagprocess.htm. [Accessed 08 April 2013].

Daguerreotype - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2013. Daguerreotype - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerreotype. [Accessed 08 April 2013].

The Daguerreotype Process. 2013. The Daguerreotype Process. [ONLINE] Available at: http://inventors.about.com/od/dstartinventions/a/Daguerreotype_3.htm. [Accessed 08 April 2013].

Exhibition Name: Forces

Date Seen: 4-04-13

· Artist name George Muscat

· The exhibition is held in the Saint James Cavalier in Valletta

· It is made out of clay.

· The exhibition name is Forces which as the name suggest it shows the elements such as earth which is the clay itself, fire as the clay is fired in the kiln and even the colours used I think they suggests wind, air and fire.

· It has a lot of curved lines with different lengths and thicknesses which I think they suggest movement, vitality and also flow.

· There are also some diagonal lines which give me the impression of action.

· The texture is smooth with some rough areas.

· Artist name George Muscat.

· This work name is “Facebook”.

· It is made out of Raku clay which is then fired.

· It has different faces with different expressions such as some are laughing, some are sad etc.

· There is contrast between the black and white colours as they are monochrome.

The texture is smooth.

· Artist Name George Muscat.

· I think this piece of art work is made out of clay and glass which then are fired and the glass melts.

· It has a lot of lines which are curved lines and straight lines. The straight lines are horizontal and vertical which contrast each other because straight lines in my opinion suggest strength while horizontal lines give me a calming effect, also curved lines give me the illusion of movement.

· It has a roundish shape which shows unity and wholeness.

· It is very colourful and shiny and the texture is smooth.

· Artist name George Muscat.

· It is made out of clay which then is fired.

· It has a lot of straight lines which are horizontal and vertical lines which in my opinion vertical lines suggest strength while horizontal lines give me a calming effect.

· It also has contour lines of fishes.

· Artist name George Muscat.

· I think the form of the body is taken from a real person with plaster and then it is made out of clay which is then fired.

· On this figurine there are some designs, the lines and shapes of these designs are very complex and detailed.

· The texture is smooth with some rough areas and it is also shiny.

· In my opinion the curved lines suggest warmth.

Name of exhibition unknown

Artist Name Joseph Maria Genuis (1934-70)

· (Tfajla) Young Girl

· It is painted all in black, it is smooth and shiny.

· The bust is plain, but the details of the face are very realistic.

Artist Antonio Sciortino (1879-1947)

(Mara Eeganti) Elegant Woman

This bust is very simple and plain although it has detail on it.

It is all white and texture is rough.

Antonio Sciortino (1879-1947)

· Les Gavroches 1907

· It is made out of bronze.

· The statue gives me the impression of movement, as there are three Parisian street boys which are pulling each other.

· This statue was situated in the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta but it was removed from there to be restored; now it is found in the Archaeology Museum.

. 2013. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20030609/local/banishment-for-i-les-gavroches-i-masterpiece.148314. [Accessed 08 April 2013].

· Artist George Borg (1906-1983)

· (Qassis) Priest

· This bust is of Dun Karm Psaila, which is sculpted wearing his priest vest.

· It is detailed although without any colour.

·

(Tifla tidbissem) Smiling Girl

· Artist Antonio Sciortino (1879-1947)

· It is plain and simple although it has detail.

· The artist is transferring the feeling of happiness and joyful as the girl is smiling.