Differences between picturesque landscape and sublime landscape

There are many different landscape photographers, past and present, whose work is known for its particular style and characteristics. Each landscape photographer generally takes only one style of landscape photograph, i.e. a picturesque landscape or a sublime landscape. This is because each type of landscape has a very different approach, and represents different elements of … Read more

Varying progressive and conservative contradictions in the creative output of the Wanderers

The Wanderers or Peredvizhnik were a group of Russian Realist artists who formed in 1870 in protest at academic restrictions and the status of the artist within Russian society at the time. The group was active for several decades and artists were not recruited according to aesthetic or political persuasion. For this reason, the group’s … Read more

Extent to which people who ‘are not in the arts’ can be engaged with art (focus: Amanda Heng)

Introduction Since the 1960s, art has been evolving towards “dematerialisation”, in which the concept behind the art was regarded with more poignance than the physical materialisation of the artwork. As a result, the relationship between the artist and the audience is one that has become increasingly integral to the experience of the art, as art … Read more

To what extent is it correct to denounce the creation of Diego Rivera’s 1932 painting Man at the Crossroads?

INTRODUCTION Some of the most recognizable influences in the Earth’s history, include works in the arts. The arts allow a person to express their creativity awaiting to burst out of the individual’s mind. Art can be found through multiple branches including expression through paintings, music, works of literature, and routines of dance. With the creation … Read more

The use of Art during wartimes

Art could sometimes be underestimated in times of war. Many failed to notice that it also played an important part to win the war. Art was a weapon used by all combatants in the Second World War, including the United States of America. Propaganda posters, cartoons, and films called out to all Americans to support … Read more

How can design arrest the consumerism binge of the last twenty years?

Make, take, dispose and revert. How can design arrest the consumerism binge of the last twenty years. Forms of modern life may differ in quite a few respects – but what unites them all is precisely their fragility, temporariness, vulnerability and inclination to constant change. To ‘be modern’ means to modernize – compulsively, obsessively; not … Read more

Court paintings express perceptions of Moriscos in the charged language of style, allegory & composition.

On the 9th April 1609, a decree was issued ruling that all descendants of Spanish Muslims, an officially baptised community, known as “Moriscos” were to be expelled. This event (1609-1614) ruptured and created two distinct communities and perpetuated the moorification of the Moriscos’ image. This dissertation intends to place court paintings of Moriscos in their … Read more

A new future for documentary? How are contemporary photographers challenging the pre-existing rules and confines of the documentary genre?

With boundaries constantly blurring, and the rules of each discourse ever-changing I find myself questioning which genre or discourse my work may fall into and whether that really matters. Definitions, specifications and rules help us define ourselves and our artwork, they give us something to work within. Each discourse comes with its own set of … Read more

Merge the Deconstructivist style with homeware

The purpose of this contextual review is to illustrate my research and the direction of my Major Design Study. My aim for this project is to merge the Deconstructivist style with homeware. Throughout the design process I will keep in mind current trends and affordability. Since its genesis in the 1980s, the term Deconstruction has … Read more

Raphael – the great Renaissance painter

The work of the great Renaissance painter Raphael continues to amaze generations due to its magnificence. Some of his greatest works such as The School of Athens, The Alba Madonna, and Galatea are timeless pieces which use techniques most associated with the High Renaissance era. Raphael Sanzio was born in the city-state of Urbino, Italy … Read more

Corneille’s ‘The Theatrical Illusion’

Corneille’s ‘The Theatrical Illusion’, first performed in 1636 was, despite its popularity prior to Corneille’s death, ‘promptly forgotten’ (Cairncross, 1975, p. 195). However, the play was revolutionary in terms of its more unusual metathatrical standpoint and diversion from traditions seen in 17th Century French classical theatre, which had existed out of Aristotle’s theories (Desnain, 2018). … Read more