Self Portrait in Fur Coat (1500)
Albrecht Durer
Damien Hirst and Maia Norman (1995)
Knob (1997)Gavin Turk
Albrecht Durer's 'Self-Portrait in Fur Coat' (1500) shows a significant change in the way that the artist views and portrays himself. Research the paintings by Albrecht Durer, Gavin Turk and Damien Hirst in order to answer the following questions;
1. Identify aspects of Durer's self-portrait that show a changing view of the artist's view of himself as an individual.
This self-portrait is unlike any that came before. It is half-length, frontal and highly symmetrical. A lack of conventional background presents Durer without regard to time or place. The lightness of touch and tone seen in his earlier two self-portraits has been replaced by a far more introverted and compels representation. Durer was an innovate artist. In this work, Durer's style seems to have developed into what art historian Marcel Brion described as classicism like that of Ingres. The face has the inflexibility and impersonal dignity of a mask, hiding the restless turmoil of anguish and passion within." As an individual, Durer's self-portrait shows the arrogance and confidence of an artist at the height of his power.
2. Explain how the artist's social status increased during the Renaissance period. Briefly explain why this happened.
During 1450, European scholars became more interested in studying the world around them. Their art became more true to life. They began to explore new lands. The new age in Europe was eventually called "the Renaissance." The Renaissance was much more than simply studying the work of ancient scholars. It influenced painting, sculpture, and architecture. Paintings became more realistic and focused less often on religious topics. Rich families became patrons and commissioned great art. Artists advanced the Renaissance style of showing nature and depicting the feelings of people.
Apparently, the art began to flourish during that time. There are four reasons: Crusaders returned to Europe with a newfound understanding of the world; the invention of the printing press encouraged literacy and helped to spread new ideas; wealthy families and church had amassed enough wealth to become patrons; the development of finical techniques credit merchants to prosper.
3. Comment on Gavin Turk's work in relation to individualism, status of the artist and egotism.
Gavin Turk often uses his own image in life-size sculptures of famous people. Individualism is clearly seen as only he is being used for the work and no one else or anything else around him. He made a number of works based on his own signature that comment on the value that the artist’s name can confer onto a work. Also, Turk thinks quite highly of himself. The print is simplistic, in which he also focus on himself.
4. Comment on Damien Hirst's use of his work and the media for self-promotion.
Damien Hirst uses media quite well for self-promotion in his works. He used different media and things, such as 'For the love of God'-one of his piece of works. This was the diamond encrusted skull Hirst created which was worth $20 million dollars - this work gained a lot of media attention mainly because of the amount of money used to create the piece and the fact that it sold for $100 million dollars.
5. Find 2 images of work by any artist or designer that reflect some of the ideas of individualism, self-promotion or egotism that have been discussed on this blog. Upload images to your blog, title and date the work, identify the artist/designer and comment on the work in relation to the question.
First image is “ Love of God” by Demien
This image has been widely reproduced worldwide in the media and has achieved widespread recognition, as being that of a unique artwork. This work reflect the ideas of individualisms that the thought more open. Also this low resolution image is credited as a piece of artistic work is used in Damien Hirst, an article about the artist and his work, which includes this work. It is considered that the image adds significant value to the article, beyond merely the textual description and that it is necessary for a proper understanding of the artist and his work to be able to see this example of work. It is considered that this will not cause commercial harm to the original author. It is believed that this is fair use and does not infringe copyright. There is no known free alternative available and it is not possible to make a free alternative.
The second one is Henri Matisse Self-Portrait in a Striped T-shirt (1906).
This is one of the most well-known self-portraits of Mattise. He paints himself in a striped T-shirt that was most commonly worn by fishermen in that day. He presents himself as a "human being" rather than an artist. This portrait reflects the ideas of individualism because the artist is depicting just himself he has not add anything fancy to give his audience more information about him or shift the audience's attention .
6. How do you think artists and designers are viewed in Western society today?
Personally, I think the status of modern artists in western society has improved a lot. They have the freedom to express themselves and let the society hear their voices. In other words, they have higher socioeconomic status, they have been seen respected and equally.
Furthermore, our environment provides diverse resources for artists because the people's lives have changed a lot and become more likely to be affected by other factors. Therefore artists have the chance to use enough resource and make their choices to develop their words into music and movie. Overall, the social status of modern artists, especially in western counties, has improved a lot. However, there are still existing the inequalities in artists in some Asian countries, I hope this situation can be changed in near future.
7. Comment on the blogs of other students.
8. Reference the websites and/or books you have used, at the end of your blog.
