Gaia
Alex Grey (1989)
In this piece of artwork, the phases of nature are being depicted from the eyes and mind of Alex Grey. This happens to be a very detailed painting, demonstrating the many different phases nature undergoes. Starting from the top, we can see the moon on the right and the sun on the left. The left of the tree is beautiful leaves and healthy branches, while the right of the tree is violent fire. Below the treetop, the beautiful aspect of nature is being portrayed on the left. The animals are healthy, the birds are flying, and the sky is a pretty blue with delicate clouds. On the right however, instead of birds flying, planes are flying. Smoke and pollution are involved in the background, instead of a mountainous area. Instead of the delicate blue sky, the sky is filled with smoke. Notice, however, that although this picture looks as if it is depicting two different and separate worlds, the Earth is in the middle of the picture, demonstrating that all of the characteristics included in this piece of artwork are all those that are involved on Earth.
Journey of the Wounded Healer
Alex Grey (1984-85)
This oil picture displays the interesting phases of a wounded person undergoing the transitions from a wounded man to a healed man. We can observe that the first and last phases are depicted more clearly than the middle. In the first phase, the man is essentially wrapped up in his disease or problem, while in the last, the man is standing on what could be the disease or problem, meaning he has conquered it. The middle phase comes off as a blur, but contains a great deal of detail. We can conclude that the middle phase is a very complex stage, meaning that Alex Grey depicts it is not as easy as simple steps 1, 2, and 3 to become a healed man.
The False Mirror
René Magritte (1898–1967)
Throughout the transitions people undergo, the way they view themselves changes as well. This painting also connects to our survey about how young, middle, and elder people view the world. We can infer that this particular painting involves someone looking at the world in a positive aspect, due to the blue sky and soft clouds. Another person, however, might look at this painting and feel those blue skies should rather be dark, filled with heavy, black clouds.
The Scream
Edvard Munch
This painting caught our eyes due to the great amount of emotion depicted by the use of colors Edvard Munch chose. During many phases throughout life, people are often struck with confusion, astonishment, and anger. These were the three emotions we got out of this painting. We were particularly confused about the reddish colored sky. Often, sunsets contain reddish skies, however, sunsets are viewed as relaxing. We didn't see much relaxation in this picture. One theory of the reasoning behind the reddish sky in the background is the powerful volcanic eruption of Krakatoa that Munch had observed in 1883. The red color could represent the ash that came out of the volcano and left the sky a tinted red. After seeing this theory, this painting made a lot more sense. Screams can often be heard due to the tragedy of a volcano erupting. People often become concerned because they know they will have to undergo the phases of recovery next.
The Persistence of Memory
Salvador Dali (1931)
This painting by Spanish Salvador Dali depicts a fetus-like head lying on the ground, like a fish that was washed ashore that is now decaying after a long struggle gasping for air. The drooping pocket watches could potentially suggest the irrelevance of time during sleep. In other words, when we are asleep, the time does not continue, only memories do. This buckle of time can be easily observed by just about anyone who ever even tried to think about their own dreams. Some art historians theorize that the painting may be a visual depiction of the idea behind the Einstein's theory of relativity: that time itself is relative and not fixed.
Priya Shuklah
This painting, by Priya Shuklah, relates to the phases of grief, one, because we can see the obvious tear drop in the character's eyes. When a person is undergoing the phases of grief, they are often advised to do something they enjoy, such as play music or sports, sing, or dance, to get the negative thoughts escape their mind temporarily. We can conclude that this particular character plays music to escape the grieving thoughts due to the obvious guitar and piano.
Crying Man Change
Joyce Owens (2008)
This painting could be depicted in many ways; however Joyce Owens created this piece of artwork as another example of the all the men she saw crying on TV in the aftermath of 911, Katrina, and the war in Iraq.
Birth
Alex Grey
Although this piece of artwork by Alex Grey might seem a bit visual, we found it interesting to compare it to the picture Dying, by Alex Grey as well. We can see the pain depicted in the woman's face and the design around her body can be viewed as shock waves. Although she looks as if she needs it, the woman has no support in this piece of work.
Dying
Alex Grey
While Alex Grey depicts pain and a scream for help in Birth, he demonstrates relaxation in his piece of artwork, Dying. The facial expression and body language of the man represent a relaxed feeling. Also, while no one but the woman and the fetus are represented in the picture above, many eyes are watching this dying man. What do you think Grey is trying to say by this? Do people show more attention to a birth than a death? Let us know what you think on our response page!
La Calavera de la Catrina
José Guadalupe Posada (1852–1913)
In terms of phases, this piece of artwork relates to the last phase of life. Like the American day of Halloween, the Day of the Dead is related to the Catholic celebration of All Souls' Days. Every year in November, Mexican families come together to celebrate the souls of the dead, which is their practice of mourning. You can view the practices of the Muslim and Jewish religions in the interview section with Rabbi Stanger and teacher, Nazli.
Triumph of Death
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525–1569)
Continuing to focus on the last phase of life, death, Bruegel depicts the end of all life on earth in this painting. One narrative in this painting shows Death in the form of skeletons. In another narrative, individuals on the foreground of the painting are demonstrating the different stations in life. These unique stages include a king, cardinal, chess players, a loving couple, and a knight. All of these people, no matter what stage they're in, are being slaughtered.
Phases of Cancer
The mural commissioned by the Assarian Cancer Center of Providence Hospital in MI is divided into thirds. The first third on the left depicts the biological process of meiosis, while the middle third represents the biological process of mitosis. The final right third depicts the emotional stages a cancer patient experiences when they're diagnosed with unfortunate disease known as cancer.
Hands of Time
Andrew Judd
This painting displays a small person reaching up to control the time he/she has. This is a metaphor of how time is man made and how important or unimportant it is. Clocks run our lives if we let them or we can take control and run them too. They hold us accountable and are a measure of how we "spend time."
Oh How Time Flies Irrationally
Unknown
While this painting might come off as silly, it is, in reality, very true! So many times in our lives we feel as if we can't keep track of time! Ever hear anyone say, "Where did the time go!?" We actually found a deeper meaning in this painting. While the two women are sitting down for lunch, they are being blown away by time. Perhaps, this artist is trying to portray that there isn't always enough time for relaxing and sitting down with friends. This is an unfortunate idea, but sometimes it is true in the fast, busy world we live in.
Photography
Here we see two photographs of Time Square in New York City. The first one is currently what you'll see while visiting Times Square, while the second one is what you would have seen if you were to visit in 1910. As we can observe, these pictures are similar, yet so different. They really exemplify that times do change, yet a lot stays the same! We also observe the great differentiation between the forms of transportation from 1910 until now. We can see in the second picture that no automobiles are present. The majority of the transportation was done with horse and buggies. In the first picture, we see the famous yellow taxis that take over the New York City area. It's interesting, however, that most don't, and never did, get around in the city on their own. A driver conducted the horse and buggies, while the taxi drivers drive the taxis. So although it is 100 years later, we still count on others to transport us to and from throughout the famous New York City.
In these two pictures, we can observe that over the course of 100 years, the city really hasn't changed so much. The beautiful colors of the current day photo might make the city seem more amusing and touristy; however, the layout of the city overall is almost identical.
Phases of Art Throughout Time
Surrealism: artists create dreamlike paintings filled with mysterious objects or familiar objects that have been oddly changed in ways that you would not see in reality
<< In Salvador Dali's painting "The Persistence of Memory" there are melting clocks and a clock with ants coming out of it. The clocks look real but they are melting, and as we know, clocks are not usually melting.
Pop Art: subject in the painting that is popular
<< Andy Warhol often drew pictures and then repeated the object, or person. One of his most famous paintings was called, "Marilyn green, pink, red, and gold." Marilyn Monroe was the most popular person in her time. You can tell his paintings because he made twenty objects of the same thing in one painting.
Impressionism: paintings were done of quick movements in nature, often showing the way light changes throughout the day
<< Water Lillies by Monet
We can notice the relaxing method in which Monet depicts the outdoors.
Post-Impressionism: A freely expressive use of color and form to decribe emotions or movement
<< In his "Starry Night," we can see that Vincent Van Gogh based his style off of accuracy of impressionism and the depiction of light.
Cubism: shows movement through time. That means that instead of painting someone stiff, the artist would paint them to were they looked like they were moving.
<< This painting called "Dora Maar Seated" is a painting that shows a woman sitting in a chair. However, it can be observed that motion is shown as well.
Romanticism: emphasized strong emotion in reaction to the European Enlightenment
<< Ludwig van Beethoven
The serious and stern expression on the face of Beethoven fulfills the description of Romanticism perfectly.