Art (Semester 1)

The Supper at Emmaus

Task 1

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 15:01pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: Giuseppe Bonnici (1834-1900)

Title of work: The Supper at Emmaus

Techniques used: Paint

Formal elements: The colours he uses are very soothing to help with the eye. The way he used the colours is by matching the colours with certain colour so that way it comes out more vivid; as seen in the picture he matches red with blue, yellow with purple and green with orange that way the colours come out more. Tone is very soothing.

Martydrom

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:41pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: Lazzaro Pisani (1854-1932)

Title of work: Martydrom

Techniques used: Paint

Formal elements: The way the painting is painted is to show a victory of a battle; showing the person in the middle in the light to show his victory and beheading the guy. The colours are relaxed and the tone is very soothing.

St Paul curing the sick people at Malta

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:42pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: Giuseppe Cali’ (1846-1930)

Title of work: St Paul curing the sick people at Malta

Techniques used: Ink

Formal elements: The way this piece of art is created is by just drawing lines to shade and create the figures. As it can be seen the people in the piece of art are very well detailed to be recognized. The piece of art is well explained and can easily tell what it is.

Apotheosis of St Paul

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:58pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: Giuseppe Cali’ (1846-1930)

Title of work: Apotheosis of St Paul

Techniques used: Chalk and Charcoal

Formal elements: As you can see the way this piece of art is created is that the artist himself used chalk to make the light parts and used the charcoal to make the shadow and details. The piece work is very clean and smooth.

Madonna and child with Saints Anne and Lawrence

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:59pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: Vincenzo Hyzler (1813-1849)

Title of work: Madonna and child with Saints Anne and Lawrence

Techniques used: Pencil

Formal elements: This piece of art is a portrait. The art work consists of lines to create the different shapes. The artist darkens certain areas to make the work more vivid and realistic with a 3d aspect.

Task 2

Cubism

            Cubism came alive thx to Pablo Picasso since he was the one to start this movement. It was the first style of art to evolve from abstract art. Cubism was believed to be to be an art revitalised by the tired traditions on Western art in which they believed to run their course. Cubists challenge the forms of conventional representations, such as the perspective in which has been a rule since the Renaissance. Their main purpose was to make a new way of seeing modern age.

Figure 9 Cubism Painting

            In the four decades from 1870-1910, western culture saw more innovative advance than in the past four centuries. Amid this period, creations, for example, photography, cinematography, sound recording, the phone, the engine auto and the plane proclaimed the beginning of another age. The issue for craftsmen as of now was how to mirror the advancement of the time utilizing the drained and trusted customs that had served workmanship throughout the previous four centuries. Photography had started to swap painting as the instrument for archiving the age and for craftsmen to sit outlining autos, planes and pictures of the new innovations was not precisely adapting to present circumstances. Specialists required a more radical approach - 'another method for seeing' that extended the conceivable outcomes of workmanship similarly that innovation was broadening the limits of correspondence and travel. This better approach for seeing was called Cubism - the main conceptual style of present day workmanship. Picasso and Braque built up their thoughts on Cubism around 1907 in Paris and their beginning stage was a typical enthusiasm for the later works of art of Paul Cézanne.

            This era mostly affected in the artists’ paintings as can be seen in figure 9.

            For me this movement was a huge impact since a lot of art works and designs and I don’t see why not it would not inspire me to make an art work in the future.

Primitivism

            Primitive art was born a long time ago but was not discovered immediately. When this movement was discovered caught the eye of many artists in which they were amazed by the art since it shows history and shows that art was born in ancient times and continued over till nowadays.

Figure 10 Primitive Rock African Art

            At first primitive art was a way of communication to show how they used to communicate and show history that happened long ago. This movement is still used to communicate in certain parts of earth since there are still tribes that communicate thanks to this art although for them this is not art and for us it is they sometimes are shocked the way we are amazed by this art. The expression "Primitivism", which rose in compelling artwork amid the late nineteenth century, is utilized to portray any craftsmanship described by symbolism and themes connected with such primitive workmanship. Set apart by ethnographic structures, frequently of extraordinary visual power, this imaginative primitivism dates from the 1890s when it showed up in the Tahitian compositions of Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), and immediately prompted to a pattern among French and German specialists of the Expressionist vanguard. Without a doubt, a few started to visit accumulations of ethnological curios: in 1902, the British-American artist Jacob Epstein went to the Trocadero Museum in Paris, as did Derain and Vlaminck in 1904-5, and Picasso in 1907; in 1903 and 1906, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner went by the ethnological gathering in Dresden; in 1907, Kandinsky saw the new accumulation of primitive shows in Berlin, which was additionally gone to by Schmidt-Rottluff, Franz Marc and others.

Figure 13 Primitive Rock American Art

            This art describes many different cultures. One ought to note however that the expression "primitive workmanship" is not regularly used to portray Chinese, Indian or Islamic fine arts, or works from any of the significant societies including Egyptian, Greek or Roman Civilizations. This art movement includes African Art (sub-Saharan)(Figure 10), Oceanic Art (Pacific islands), Aboriginal Art (Australia) and additionally different sorts of Rock Art from ancient times and furthermore Tribal Art from America and South-East Asia(Figure 11).

            The way I would see that primitive would inspire me is in the creation of creatures since that is the most thing I draw.

Design (Semester 1)

Task 1

King George V coins

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:34pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: George V (1910-1936)

Title of work: King George V coins

Techniques used:  Bronze and Metal

Formal elements: These coins were used for trading and buying back at the time. The coins consisted the face of the king to show who was the king during that time so that way they could be recognized. The coins also had a smooth round shape.

English Mahogany Piano

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:40

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: Broadwood and Son ,London 1805

Title of work: English Mahogany Piano

Techniques used: Wood

Formal elements: The piano consists of a smooth surface. This piano was used my people to learn, study and make music. This piano is made from high quality wood as from the condition seen in the picture.

Wax group depicting the deposition of Christ

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:41pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: 19^th Cent Maltese Craft

Title of work: Wax group depicting the deposition of Christ

Techniques used: Wax

Formal elements: Wax was used when it was still hot so that way he can shape it than place it since wax becomes a kind of sold when cooled down a lot. Wax needs to always stay cool other words this piece of work would melt down. This used to be used during a certain Maltese feast as a decoration for home.

Wrought iron double lectern from The Choir of St Publius’ Church, Rabat

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:48pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: 19^th Cent Maltese Craftsmanship

Title of work: Wrought iron double lectern from The Choir of St Publius’ Church, Rabat

Techniques used: Iron

Formal elements: This used to be used by priests in church. They used to place the Bible and other church book on it to read. The Design for this lectern is very beautiful even for the eye.

Carved wood silvered and glided revolving exposition throne backed by brilliant rays

Date and time visited: Nov 7, 2016, 14:49pm

Place/Exhibition visited: Wignacourt Museum

Name of practitioner: 19^th Cent Maltese Craftsmanship

Title of work: Carved wood silvered and glided revolving exposition throne backed by brilliant rays

Techniques used: Wood

Formal elements: This used to be used by priests to place the loaf of Christ in it; nowadays similar thrones are still used to do the same thing. This shapes used for this throne are very elegent.

Task 2

De Stijl

Figure 1 Dress Inspired by De Stijl

De Stijl was born in Germany. The meaning of De Stijl in Dutch is ‘The Style’. The artists that were mostly recognized with the movement were the painters Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian, along with the architect Gerrit Reitveld. The movement consisted of simplicity and abstraction through in which they could express a Utopian idea of harmony and order. The harmony and order originated from pure geometric forms and primary colours. The distribution that Die Stijl speaks to the most noteworthy work of visual communication from the development, yet the thoughts of diminishment of shape and shading are the actual impacts on the development of visual communication as well. De Stijl was influenced by the cubist paints from their perfect geometric shapes such as the perfect straight lines we mostly see in De Stijl.

Figure 2 Bags Inspired by De Stijl

Figure 3 Shoes Inspired by De Stijl

De Stijl influenced a lot of people in their design. It influenced a lot of fashion designers to make their own designs with it. The style was mostly used on the dresses for the patterns, shoes, bags and more fashion items in which we can see in figures 1, 2 and 3. It is also very popular with interior designers. This affected on how the room would look and how the furniture would be affected by it as well and we can see this in figures 4. It also influenced on nowadays vehicles on their body paintwork to show its beauty as shown in figure 5.

Figure 4 House Furniture Inspired by De Stijl

For me De Stijl is an amazing style and in which I can see why it inspires many different people and designers in what they create and shows their passion in it. I like the design of its simplicity and the few number of colours that is used in it and I do not see why this beautiful design would not inspire. In the future I, might try to create a design in which it consists this style of design.

Figure 5 Car Bodywork Inspired by De Stijl

Bauhaus

Figure 6 Teapot Inspired by Bauhaus

            Bauhaus was born in Germany. This was a school of design. It was founded by the architect Walter Gropius, in which he combined 2 schools, the Weimar Academy of Arts and the Weimar School of arts and Crafts, into what he called Bauhaus or also known as house of building.

            The Bauhaus was built for the reason to increase the art in design. This school was succeeding and inspiring a lot of young artists to start in the way of art in design of useful items for everyday life, such as teapots, coffee tables and chairs in which all can be seen in figure 6, 7 and 8.

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            The Bauhaus was the most powerful pioneer workmanship school of the twentieth century, one whose way to deal with instructing, and comprehension craftsmanship's relationship to society and innovation, had a noteworthy effect both in Europe and the United States long after it shut. It was moulded by the nineteenth and mid twentieth hundreds of years’ patterns, for example, Arts and Crafts development, which had looked to level the refinement amongst fine and connected expressions, and to re-join inventiveness and assembling. This is reflected in the sentimental medievalism of the school's initial years, in which it envisioned itself as a sort of medieval artworks society. Be that as it may, in the mid-1920s the medievalism offered path to a weight on joining craftsmanship and modern plan, and it was this which eventually ended up being its most unique and vital accomplishment. The school is likewise eminent for its staff, which included specialists Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Paul Klee and Johannes Itten, planners Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and originator Marcel Breuer.

Figure 8 Chair Inspired by Bauhaus

            Although that the school did not stay around that long it made a huge impact on art and design itself since it inspired many artists to study there and continue their own crafts and designs after it was shut down. I would have loved if it was still ongoing till this day since it was a very important step in art and design and I would have loved to visit it if it was possible.

Essay

Contextual Studies

Introduction:

          In the past, there were many Maltese traditions in which till today are still used but by most of them nowadays how no use. Most of them can still be found but they don’t have their same old use but instead they are used as decorations. In this research paper, I will be looking at the “Girna” and the “Maltese Boats: Luzzu and Lanca”.

Girna

Figure 1: Maltese Girna(Livinginmalta.com)

Figure 2 Building Design inspired by the Girna

Figure 2 Building Design inspired by the Girna

            In the following section I will be talking about the Girna. As Aquilina (2017) points out the Girna was not originally originated by the Maltese culture but later it became part of it. Girna used to be used mostly by farmers in which they stored farming materials and tools. The Girna is generally shaped like a rectangular, oval or squarest dome. The Girna was also used by the hunters, they used it to take rest till they see a bird to hunt. “The girnas architect style is known as corbelling” (Aquilina, 2017). The girna was constructed by many different rocks placed to puzzle each other to make it hold and by building it that way it holds on strong. The girna nowadays is still used by some farmers and bird hunters but the rest are used as a tourist attraction due to social change and improvements in technology nowadays. The girna inspired some people in their building designs as shown in figure 2.

The way that the Girna inspires me is particularly in the way it is constructed, as can be seen in Figure 3 below:

Figure 3 Inspiration

Maltese Boats

Figure 4 Maltese Luzzu

In this following section I will be talking about the Luzzu and the Lanca. The Maltese Luzzu was typically used by fisherman. The fisherman could notice which ship is theirs by the colours and patterns they used to colour them with. The most common colours that were used usually were brightly painted shades of yellow, blue, green, brown, red and white. The bow of the hull was usually pointed and had a pair of eyes know as ‘The Eye Of Horus/Osiris’ which were believed to be from ancient Phoenician time. Nowadays most of these boats are still being used to fish by fisherman since it became a tradition to them and therefor new fisherman still till this they get inspired. The luzzu also influenced some artists and clothing designers from its own unique design as shown in figure 5.

    

Figure 5 Clothing Design influenced by the Luzzu

                                             Figure 5 Clothing Design influenced by the Luzzu

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Figure 6 Maltese Lanca

                                                           Figure 6 Maltese Lanca

Figure 7 English Lanca influenced by the Maltese Lanca

Children in the past also used to sing a song dedicated to the Lanca and it is showed below:

 Lanca gejja u ohra sejra, minn Tas-Sliema ghall-Marsamxett. Il-kaptan bil-pipa f’halqu, jidderiegi l-bastiment; Sewwa sewwa f’nofs ta’ bahar, il-kaptan hassu hazin, ma kellux min idur mieghu; daru mieghu l-bahrin, Aghmillu karta, aghmillu karta, aghmillu karta ghal tax-xjuh. (Vassallohistory.wordpress.com  – Il-Lanec tal-Pass, 2017)

Figure 8 Inspiration

            The Maltese Lanca was typically used for transportation around Malta. The boat used to be big enough to carry about 40 to 60 people. Nowadays it still kind of used for the same purpose the only difference is that now it is mostly used for tours to show the tourists certain attractions which can only be seen closely by the boat. The Lanca also influenced the English to make their on Lanca as shown in figure 7.

The way that the boats inspire me is particularly in the way it is coloured and their design, as 
can be seen in Figure 8 below:

Conclusion:

In conclusion for me the reason that these traditions didn’t die and are still ongoing till this day is that that they are part of us and we keep teaching it to our younger generations. These are my favourite Maltese traditions and they will keep on going since they are influencing a lot of people for them to keep on living.

References:

"Il Luzzu - Traditional Maltese Fishing Boat In Marsaxlokk Malta". YouTube. N.p., 2017. Web. 24 Jan. 2017. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOMu9_AR8_Y)

Anon, 2017. The Harbour Ferries – Il-Lanec tal-Pass. [online] Maltese History & Heritage. Available at: <https://vassallohistory.wordpress.com/the-harbour-ferries-il-lanec-tal-pass/> [Accessed 11 Jan. 2017].

Aquilina, M., 2017. The Maltese 'Girna' - Living in Malta. [online] Livinginmalta.com. Available at: <http://livinginmalta.com/miscellaneuos/maltese-girna/> [Accessed 11 Jan. 2017].