Notes
How Michelangelo made sculpture was a subtraction, he knew deep down in his heart what he was going to make. When Chinese artist Zheng Ban-qiao drew bamboos, the image of bamboo had already taken root in his heart and had been no longer a simple object in his eyes. If you focus on what you see, then it’s easy for to retard yourself by form and superficial things. The image in heart is influences by all aspects, such as experiences, backgrounds, culture and knowledge system, etc. It’s emotional rather that rational. No matter the bamboo or sculpture, only when it goes through three stages as an object in eyes, in heart and in works can it become vive.
Traditional Chinese painting is not sketching. At first, artists learn how to paint mountains, water or buildings, etc, after that, they will leave their studios to observe and explore outdoors, then they will return to their studios when the nature is already printed on their hearts and they add all their feelings into their works.
The works of Matthias Drunewald reminds us that an artist can indeed be both great and old-school for the greatness of artist is not about new discovery.
In the late 16th century, the word mannerism means imitating the technique, not the spirit.
Art shows characteristics which was just an attachment in the past, and the creation has its motif. Just like when we light a cigarette, the aim is to light it, but that how do we light it shows characteristics. The viewpoint that the real objective of art is to show characteristics can only be accepted when art is not related to other purposes.
Eugène Delacroix: Imagination is more important than knowledge.
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot: He focused more on general form and tonality rather than details to show the heat and tranquility of summer in South.
Courbet: Honest means to show audience what the artists see, that’s the real object of impressionists. Gombrich thought that nature was never totally conquered until impressionism appeared, but I think it’s our eyes that is conquered.
Paul Cézanne sought the art which was greater with tranquility, he intended to be faithful to his feeling in front of nature as well as make impressionism something stronger and more durable.
Picasso mocked those who tried to understand his art: Everyone wants to understand art, why don’t they try to understand the chirp?
Henry Moore didn’t attempt to create a woman of stone but to create a stone which shows how a women is.
John Sellal Taylor: The precursor seems the most traditional in a multi-cultural world.
Grayson perry lecture
We do more that just collecting different things and make them a new art work and we still need basic skills, like Craftsman.He talked about a concept named Internal Landscape. He used a map to represent his inward world whose materialization was diversified. He created his own civilization and his God was his Teddy Bear.