Last Nights Talk

I agree with the professor. It was a disaster!!!
I was lost through the talk. I didn't know what they were talking about.
I think Danto didn't prepare for this talk, since there were times that he took a long pause and came back with some sort of brain storming that didn't make any sense to me. How can he come to a talk without being prepare?? Having so many people there trying to understand what he is talking about... Making the public more confused.

The word "Beauty" is new to me. They don't even know what to call beauty?
I think Art in general is beautiful! even if is not beautiful to our eyes it is beautiful to the one who create it! That is why is called "Art"

Museum Market Research

Museum market research has been around for two decades, but gathering data about visitors has never been as important or as sophisticated as it is now.
we wonder how long visitors spend at each exhibit. Curators at the Detroit Institute of Arts used research to find out. People might visit a museum to see a Monet or a Toaster or a Textile display. What's important is it's getting them in the door.
As museums expand, they need more paying customers with local shopping malls, movie theaters, even grocery stores.
Focus, groups, exit surveys and mail-in questionnaires. Museum are exploring new ways to learn what visitors want.
Which I think is great, because if we don't have any interest, we wont enjoy the exhibition.

Funny Art Video

I loved the video!!!!
It is so funny how they used animals to talk about art....
Art could be anything just like they said.
Not matter what the artist puts together. It could be a chair on a top of a desk and he will call it art.

Contemporary Art

Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced since World War II.
Contemporary art is exhibited by commercial contemporary art galleries, private collectors, corporations, publicly funded arts organizations, contemporary art museums or by artists themselves in artis-run spaces. Contemporary artists are supported by grants, awards and prizes as well as by direct sales of their work.
A common concern since the early part of the 20th century is the question of what constitutes art. This concern can be seen running through the "modern" and "postmodern" periods.

ITALIAN CINEMA

Italian film industry began in the early 20th century and developed several styles of its own such as Neorealism and Spaghetti Westerns to name a few.
The Italian movie-making started around 1903 and 1908 with the main organization located in Milan, Rome, Turin, Naples. Some of the movies produced in these studios will soon be seen around the world. In 1993, during the fascist era under Benito Mussolini, Cinecitta is born and begins large scale productions including american movies such as Ben-Hur and later on some Federico Fellini's masterpieces.
The late 1950's saw a change in the mood of movie making and also because of the strong economic growth and post war peace, Italians wanted to be entertained by happier and romantic movies and so the Italian comedy came to life.

Pierre Pinoncelli's

Many people, including the writer who covered this story in the New York Times, consider Pinoncelli as nothing more than an attention-seeking old man. In 1993, when he was on trial for attacking the same Duchamp piece by urinating into it before striking it with hammer in Nimes, the presiding judge gave the Frenchman a relatively lenient sentence because it was thought that he only wanted to " hijack the fame of the original artist" rather than actually destroy anything . Despite such opinions, those who understand the Dada movement can see that pinoncelli's apparent madness is based in exactly the same place the Duchamp's primary principle artist was, all those year ago when the majority of the art world called him crazy. Fountain was after all, rejected from an exhibition in New York when the artist presented it for the first time in 1917.
I see Pierre Pinoncelli as a perfomance artist specialising in outradgeous "happenings" or artistic provocations. How can he dressed up as Santa Claus and empty his bag in front of children and smash the toys into pieces. Just because he wants to protest against the commercialisation.

What is Modern Art ?

Many people are shocked when they go to an art gallery and see a few paints splattered on a canvas given the same status as an "Old Master". The role of art in western culture has change over the years. Technical skill and realism, predominant since the 15th century, are now less relevant. Yet most people still regard such qualities as the hallmarks of good art.

Characteristics of Modern Art

1. It isn't lifelike: Even the most realistic work of art is just a visual illusion. Just consider what a strange thing it is to try to create the illusion of a three-dimensional scene by putting paint on a flat surface. Now that photos, film, T.V. and video can do the job so well, shouln't painting be concerned with a different sort of reality?
2. Anyone can do it: Many people judge a work of art by the apparent technical skill of the artist. They look for features such as "correct " perspective and subtle shading, which create the illusion of three dimensions. Many modern artists have felt that overemphasizing technique can stifle the imagination.
3. There are multiple interpretations: There is never just one interpretation of a work of art.Your own personal response is as valid as a critic's, specially if you look carefully and think about what you see.
4. Patterns are important: The rhythmic pattern across the picture surface can conjure up different emotions in the viewer, just as music evokes different moods in the listener.
5. Energy is visible: The boldness and density (or lack thereof) show the energy with which the artist has painted it.
6. It inspires: Some people think it inspires the viewer to look beyond the world or recognizble objects, to a more spiritual or imaginative plane.

Historical Origin of Modern Art

The invention of photography in the 1830s encouraged artists to attempt even greater realism in their paintings in effort to compete with it. But as the 19th century wore on, some artists began to question the need for art to refer to the outside world at all. This led to the development of abstract art.

A second factor was the decline of patronage - the system whereby the church, royalty and the artistocracy commisioned works of art. By the 19th century art dealers had begun to sell uncommissioned art to a wider public. This gave artists more freedom to paint what and how they liked.

Source for text:

Bohm-Duchen & Cook. "Understanding Modern Art."