art povera - informational

Arte Povera, meaning poor art, is a style of modern art that started in the 1960s in Italy.   Artists of this specific style had a goal; this goal was to draw a connection between art and reality while using everyday objects.  The artists were known for creating  “impoverished art."  The reason for the start of this movement was a result of the anger that came about in Paris as schools kept a strict education policy.  Not only that, they had an issue with capitalism and consumerism.  This anger is what lead artists to mesh art and reality by using everyday objects to create an art form.  

A lead artist of the movement was Michelangelo Pistoletto.  Pistoletto was born in Biella, Italy in 1933.  He began working for his father around the age of 14 and afterwards developed his own style of painting, which resulted with his famous mirror paintings.  These paintings were made of photographed people and steel plates.  It took Pistoletto several tries before he found the right materials.  For example, at first he tried used aluminum sheets.  His final solution that worked for him was to turn stainless steel into a mirror and then take the photograph of the person, trace it and use a brush to paint on tissue paper a life size version.  After this, Pistoletto worked on sculptures.  These sculptures are what really made his stand out as an Arte Povera artist.  However recently he went back to his mirror paintings and had an exhibition to display his more recent works.   Some of Pistoletto's most famous works are Man With Yellow Pants, Man With Shirt, and Prost. N.5.

chris milk - interactive designer

CHRIS MILK

Chris Milk is an interactive designer who has directed videos for Kanye West, Arcade Fire, Modest Mouse and Gnarls Barkley. He was awarded the “Music Video Production Association” Award for 2008 “Music Video Director of the Year.

One specific video I find to be a strong interactive design is the Arcade Fire video he made, “The Wilderness Downtown.” One way it appeals positively to the user is through visual representation. The opening page asks the user to “Enter the address of their home town” which evokes happy feelings. Milk uses space creatively by opening and closing different boxes that display the home and other images in the video and makes you feel as if you are running too. To see "The Wilderness Downton," see here.

louis kahn - architect

Louis Kahn

Louis Kahn was an influential architect in the evolution of architecture. ­­Natural light was important to Kahn, he often designed a building to work the light in beautiful ways. Growing up Kahn was an artist and attended University of Pennsylvania for college. Kahn’s first big project was the Yale Art Gallery.  It led him to become famous for architecture. Figure 1 shows the famous stairwell in the Yale Art Gallery. It is famous for its triangular shape.  

Kahn was a shy person. This did not affect his work physically, however when it came to dealing with clients and finding commissions, he had a difficult time. Eventually he did design a few more things.  For example, he designed buildings at Bryn Mawr College and a structure at Salk Institute, figure 2. This structure overlooks the Ocean in California.  This incredible building reflects Kahn’s belief in designing buildings that were strong and monumental.  The detail and geometric structure is not only interesting to look at, it gives the building a powerful aesthetic. 

Kahn’s last project Capital Complex (figure 3) took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh. His goal was to create a futuristic, powerful piece of architecture.  Although it was not finished until after his death, it was a successful project.   Kahn’s understanding of geometric shapes was an amazing quality to have because it led his buildings to be beautifully complex and powerful.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

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