Art Deco

Art deco began in Paris in the 1920s' and continued in the 1930s' when it got international recognition. Art Deco represents elegance, glamour, functionality and modernity. It also has an electric artistic style that never ages. Art deco influenced both art and design, influencing architecture, interior design, fashion and even jewelry. As for art, art deco influences painting, graphic design and media such as film.
It came after Art Noveau but it has little to do with it, in fact it is quite the opposite. In it(art nouveau) could be seen flowing organic curves were as in Art deco, is formed of linear symmetry. It got it's inspiration from other styles like neoclassical, constructivism, cubism, modernism and futurism, it even got a bit of inspiration from the ancient Egyptian and Aztec forms.
Art deco is for decorative purposes only and only for visual aspects. It's popularity decreased in the late 1930s' and early 1940s' but got back it's popularity during the 1960s' with the first book that was published on the subject of Art deco in 1968 written by Bevis Hillier. An exhibition organized by Mr.Hillier in Minneapolis in 1971 again help gain getting it back in style. It continued to grow when it started getting used in graphic design during the 80s'.


graphic design influenced by art deco


inspired by Art Deco


painting influenced by Art deco.


source: Art Movements - Art Deco. 2013. Art Movements - Art Deco. [ONLINE] Available at: http://pinterest.com/thebigmachine/art-movements-art-deco/. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

Realism

Realism is called "The Realist Movement" and it originated from France in the 1800s'. The artists from this movement wanted to break away from the artistic styles and what they used to paint in the past.

Realism focuses more about what's real and simple. Paintings in the movement were about nature, ordinary lives and problems. They were also about customs and the lower class, the unexceptional, the unadorned and the humble.

Gustave Courbet was one of the first of these realist and therefore led the others to follow in his example. This painting "The Burial at Ornans" that was painted in 1849  and other paintings he had done during that time,represented the common people in everyday scenes.

The Burial at Ornans.

There were other realists like Honore Daumier who was a social and political satirist. He painted "The Washerwoman" in 1863.

source: The Realism Art Movement. 2013. The Realism Art Movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artsmypassion.com/articles.asp?ID=306. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

Realism (late 1800s-early 1900s) | Scholastic ART | Scholastic.com. 2013.Realism (late 1800s-early 1900s) | Scholastic ART | Scholastic.com. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3753924. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

POP ART.

Pop Art started in the 50s' in Britain. The first application of the term Pop Art got into conversation during a discussion a group of artists had. This group of artists called themselves "the independent group".
Pop Art did nothing to critique natural and did not exist to make a statement. It simply celebrated pop culture for what it is.
It was officially considered a movement in February of 1958 by Lawrence Alloway, talking about it in his article "The Arts and Mass Media".
The Modernist movement was completed by the Pop Art movement by investing in contemporary subject matter. Pop Art also ended the Modernism movement.

examples of POP ART


costume make-up inspired by POP ART


source: Pop Art - Art History Basics on Pop Art - mid-1950s to Early 1970s. 2013.Pop Art - Art History Basics on Pop Art - mid-1950s to Early 1970s. [ONLINE] Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/Pop-Art-Art-History-101-Basics.htm. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

Andrew Warhol

Andrew Worhol was born on August 6, 1928 iin Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the name Andrew Worhola. Both of his parents were Slovakian immigrants.
At the age of 8, Andrew Warhol got a (sometimes) a fatal disease called Chorea. This effects the nervous system that left him in bed for several months. This was the time when Worhol started drawing. His mother was an artist and started teaching him while he was in bed. Drawing had become his favorite past time. He also liked movies, which persuaded his mother to buy him a camera at the age of 9 and with that he took up photography as his past time as well.
He graduated from college with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1949 and he moved to New York to start his career as a commercial artist.
after getting a job with "Glamour" magazine, he become one of the most successful  commercial artists of the 50s', winning awards for his unique style.
He started giving more of his attention to painting in the late 1950s', and in 1961, he came up with the idea of "Pop Art". The concept of Pop Art was about paintings that focused on mass produced commercial goods.
In 1964, he opened his own art studio. This was named "The Factory" and has quickly became one of the cultural hotspots.
in 1967 Warhol published his first book "Andy Worhol's index" and after he produced more books one other being "The Philosophy of Andy Warhol" and another being "Exposures" in the 70s'.
In 80s' Andrew Warhol experimented with television, hosting "Andy Warhol's TV" and "Andy Warhol's Fifteen Minutes on MTV"
Andrew Warhol died on February 22 in 1987. He was only 58 years old.
 


a collage of his work

source:  Andy Warhol Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com . 2013.Andy Warhol Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/andy-warhol-9523875?page=2. [Accessed 20 May 2013].

how Anime influenced western animation

the word anime is now used to refer to Japanese animation,these usually have a distinct style. Anime has gotten more popular, making it a big part of the animation and it's production in the Western world.
Since it has become more popular, animation in the west has started putting hints of its distinct style that anime has. These include exaggerated facial expressions and different versions of the characters for a few seconds. Particularly, western animations like "The Batman" and "Teen Titans" use these characteristics. In "Batman Beyond" these characteristics are also there, which makes sense since some of its production processes were outsourced in Japan.

teen titans as seen on the show for most of the time.


exaggerated version seen for a few seconds.

Influences in Western animation can be seen also in the 80s', like the animation "transformers" which was inspired by mecha anime.
Another example is the american animation "Avatar: The Last Airbender". The show is technically not an anime because it originated from America but some people consider it an anime since both the plot and the style of the show are very similar to an anime. Once a reviewer had stated that "Avatar blurs the line between anime and (US) domestic cartoons until it becomes irrelevant" Creators of the show (Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino)  have said that anime was a very big influence for them to create the show.


avatar the last airbender.

Some Disney movies have also been influenced by anime. Glen Keane, the animator for "the little mermaid", "beauty and the beast" and "Aladdin" has said that anime was a big part of the inspiration. Pete Docter, a director for "UP" and "monsters inc.", has also described anime, specifically Miyazaki, as a influence.
Anime has not only influenced America but also Canada and Europe. The french animation "Cody Lyoko" was one of the most successful animated series and its producers say that the visual impact  of Japanese animation was an influence.

source: Anime-influenced animation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2013. Anime-influenced animation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime-influenced_animation. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

how Japanese culture influenced western fashion

Fashion pieces inspired by Japanese fashion is slowly being worn more and more by teenagers and young women in the west side of the world.
Japanese fashion started its revolution not long ago in the 80s', starting with designers like Issey Miyake, Kohji Kammamoto and Comme de Garcons. It has expended now to a lot more, creating brands such as Uniqlo, Kenz and Muji.
European designers like John Galliano, Elie Saab and Karl Lagerfeld have been a fan of Japanese fashion for years and often go to Japan to be inspired and see what they can bring to the west.
In fact, in 2007, John Galliano got some inspiration from the Japanese artistic elements for his Dior Handbags collection. A bag from this collection called "Dior Samourai 1947" is a woven bag that was released in celebration of Dior's 60th anniversary. The hand stitched Japanese hair knot and tortoiseshell frame top are very detailed and the rolled leather handle with twisted die detailing and gusseted sides add a bit of an Asian style to it as well.


Japanese Fashion has not only influenced fashion designers, but also celebrities. The singer Gwen Stefani voiced her love for Japan and its culture in 2004 when she hired "The Harajuku Girls" as her back up dancers. The girls are named after a small distract in tokyo where teenagers and young adults shop and hang out to explore their own fashion trends.
Gwen Stefani also has her Harajuku clothing line in which he got a lot of her inspiration from the Japanese culture. This was the the first fashion line directly combining a European designer with Japanese style. This had generated a shock for the whole western fashion world.

 
source: Japanese fashion’s influence on Western style and trends | Liberty n Lux. 2013. Japanese fashion’s influence on Western style and trends | Liberty n Lux. [ONLINE] Available at:http://libertynlux.wordpress.com/2011/03/30/japanese-fasions-influence-on-western-style-and-trends/. [Accessed 19 May 2013].

Vanity, Profanity and Worship- Jewelry Exhibition.

Visited exhibition on the 4th of May 2013.
The exhibition was held at the Casino Maltese(valletta)
The organization responsible for this exhibition were patrimonju malti. The exhibition was made up of different jewelry pieces done by different artists.