Barber Institute of Fine Arts

The visual elements of art help us break down an artist’s work and aids us get a deeper understanding of what the artist is trying to accomplish. In the book; Living with Art, by Mark Getlein, he defines the visual elements as “They are the elements that we perceive and respond to when we look at a work’s form” (Getlein, 2012, 77). Analysis of what the visual elements are, according to Getlein will help tell us a better understanding of Olafur Eliasson work. Getlein talks about seven key…

gives them a unique influence on our interpretation of history. Our perspective on the objects is mainly shaped by the context wherein the presented objects exist, and it can be affected by our own physical experience of viewing the object. War art objects and historical artifacts are presented within the given context of the curator or historical professional. The curator’s main objective is to diligently and meticulously present these works in a way which efficaciously communicates the…

Picasso, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” This serves as a great reminder for me, as an artist, for why I create art and dedicate my life to it. I find this metaphor to be a powerful and unique way to describe the effects that art has on people. This metaphor exemplifies the artist’s role in the world. It shows how art can positively impact the world and why it is important in our society. Picasso’s metaphor compares dust to the struggles of everyday life, and art to a…

By attending an art and fashion school is New York City, it is evident that people have gone through different forms of education and have experienced aspects of their education that was meaningful to them. Not only was the education of the pre-college art school and art classes at high school itself necessary, but so was the mentor-student relationship I had with my teacher at Mill Street Loft, and my Advanced Placement Studio Art teacher, as well. They showed how important the arts are, and…

Stay Down. That is the advice author and teacher Mitchell Jackson has for college students. Stay down because “you never know where you’re going to end up.” To stay down means to keep open to the possibilities. Jackson’s life is an example of someone who has seen the possibilities and chosen to stay open to them. Jackson grew up in Portland as the oldest child of a drug addicted mother. In 1997 Jackson was arrested on drug charges and spent more than a year in prison. After his release, Jackson…

Alex Prager was born November 1, 1979 in Los Angeles, California. She is an American photographer and film maker;who has been published to many places such as Vogue and placed in art exhibtions. She has gained popular attention since an exhibiton in 2005 and continues to rise. When Alex was was 13, her parents moved to Florida, but she stayed in LA and she pursued acting. Moreover, she spent her teenage years between Florida, LA, Switersland,and Europe. She has traveled Europe over time and has…

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper is a very famous artwork that was made in 1942. The artwork features a bar on a street corner and appears to be the only store open at the time on the street. The bar is not busy at all, there are only 4 people featured in the artwork including the bartender. A man and a redheaded woman sit together on one side of the bar, while a man who is alone sits on the other side of the bar. The bartender is dressed in all white and is reaching for something behind the bar. The…

ARTlandish Gallery, a small art gallery that allows local artists to showcase their work for the college town. ARTlandish has taken full advantage of the impressive art scene that Columbia boasts, and it has done so in the form of First Friday. ARTlandish sits in the middle of Downtown Columbia, snuggled in between a couple buildings and overlooking E. Walnut Street. ARTlandish has been in Columbia for six years, and was trying to find a way to break out in the competitive art scene. A short…

I had to understand why Seurat used such a difficult technique for his work. I then came upon the theory that perhaps he wanted to produce a deeper sense of life in his paintings. All things in the world are composed of millions of cells, and these cells create objects, color, and everything that practically exists. I imagine that Seurat's motive was to utilize this scientific law in his work to give an atmosphere of life, texture, and movement in the scenes that he…

and his family moved to Cedar Rapids. He then took art lessons from local artists while he was attending high school. Later Wood would teach close to Cedar Rapids while he worked at a silversmith shop. Wood’s regionalism style is a realist modern art movement where…