Artists’ Corner
‘Where artists’ minds speak’
By: Angela L, Anna C, Haarika A,, & Insherah Q
Contents Fired for Art 3 Guess the Artist 4 Art Shows and Galleries 5 Leonardo da Vinci 6-7 Masterpiece of the Month 8
Fired for “Too much Jewish-Themed Content” By: Haarika A.
The cultural manager and director of the Polish cultural institute in Berlin, Katarzyna Wielga-Skolimowska, was fired this past Tuesday from her position. Poland’s right-wing PiS-led government called for her immediate departure due to her programming, which included “too much Jewish-themed content”, as Poland’s ambassador in Germany Andrzej Przylebski had complained. The institute’s spokesperson, Marcin Zastrozny, confirmed that Wielga-Skolimowska, whose contract should have continued until summer 2017, has been dismissed “effective immediately”. I don’t agree with this decision that the government has made, and I don’t think it’s ethical .
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Guess The Artist Which artist is shown in the picture above with the blurry face? The paintings shown on the side are some of the artist above. The one the top is called “The Old Guitarist” and it was painted in 1904. The other painting on the bottom is called “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” and it was painted in 1907. 4
Art Shows & Galleries By: Anna C. What is something you like to do with your family? Maybe you should try going to an art show or visiting an art museum. I’m going to be showing you one of the most famous art galleries in the world. The Third Line Art Gallery is located in Dubai. These art pieces showcase Middle Eastern talents locally, nationally, and internationally. Pouran Jinchi’s artwork is displayed in this art museum. She is best known for her abstract, calligraphy-based contemporary visual art.
Even though you may not be able to travel to Dubai or LA to visit a famous art museum or gallery, there may be something in your hometown or nearby that you can visit!!!! When you visit art galleries, other people’s artwork may inspire you. It might even want to make you create a masterpiece of your own! Even looking at art is like it’s own type of meditation. You may study a contemporary art piece and it may help you relax and take your mind off of some other stress going on in your life.
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Leonardo da Vinci By: Angela L
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was born on April 15, 1452 in Vinci, Italy in a farmhouse. Besides basic reading, writing, and mathematics instruction, he did not receive much formal education. When Leonardo was 14, he began to study under the artist Andrea del Verrocchio in Florence. He learned skills including metalworking, leather arts, carpentry, drawing, painting, and sculpting. Leonardo became a member of Florence’s Guild of Saint Luke and established his own workshop when he was 20. In 1476, on Florence court records, Leonardo and several other young men were charged with a crime punishable by exile or even death. In 1482, Lorenzo de Medici, the Florence ruler, gave Leonardo a task to create a silver lyre and give it to Ludovico Sforza, who ruled Milan, as a peace offering. He designed war machines for Ludovico for 17 years.
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Leonardo believed that studying science would make him a better artist, since he saw these two subjects intertwined, not separate. During the 1480s, Leonardo began to study the human and animal body seriously. His drawings of some human body structures were the first on human record. Leonardo sketched his observations on loose pieces of paper that were tucked in his belt. He would put them in his notebooks and filled dozens with his illustrations and observations. Based on the structure of a bat, Leonardo sketched machines similar to bicycles, helicopters, and a flying machine. Many people wonder, ¨who is the subject in the ´Mona Lisa´?¨. The Mona Lisa is a masterpiece painted by Leonardo. Some say that Leonardo’s mother is the subject, Princess Isabella of Naples might have also been the subject. Some people even think that the subject isn’t a female at all, but Leonardo’s apprentice, Sali, dressed as a woman.
However, according to an early biographer (on Biography.com), Lisa del Giocondo, the wife of a wealthy silk merchant, was the subject. The painting’s original name, “La Gioconda”, supports this idea. Some historians believe that the merchant gave the painting as a task to Leonardo to celebrate the possible birth of the couple's next child. Leonardo always kept perfecting the painting, and was kept by his side. The “Mona Lisa” is now kept at Louvre Museum in Paris, France.
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‘American Gothic” Story By: Insherah Q
One of Grant Wood’s most popular modern works is a painting called the ‘American Gothic’ Story. This picture shows a farmer holding a pitchfork and standing beside his daughter in front of their house. One chilly August morning, a young artist took Wood out for a drive to look for some inspiration on their next masterpiece. Wood noticed a small house built in Gothic style, and
drew it on an envelope he had. After getting consent from the owners, he made the painting with two people posed in front of this house. The two people in the painting are based on real people in Grant Wood’s life- his sister Nan, and his dentist. Look like they did end up finding their next masterpiece. Today, this painting is hanging on display at Art Institute of Chicago.
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