Damian Sanchez Jr

9/16/24
Art 104
Dr. Cerise Meyers

Journal 5

1. What did you notice about this space after watching the video? How do Art
Nouveau elements here relate to Arts and Crafts. What distinguishing
characteristics of Art Nouveau can you identify?

What I noticed about the space after watching the video was that the style of design and
decorating is in a way both simple but detailed. Looking at the rooms, everything compliments
each other without being too complex. The use of the curving lines is prominent in the interior
and exterior design of the hotel. The elements of Art Nouveau seem to have soul and character
in concepts. Arts and Crafts is supposed to hold that character as well as its value resurfaced
during the times where industrialization was big. Some of the characteristics of Art Nouveau I
can identify is the use of curving lines to add an elegant look to the building overall and the use
of cast iron on the exterior of the hotel.

2. What did you notice about The Peacock Room and its relationship to Art
Nouveau?

There are two things that instantly stood out to me when looking at The Peacock Room
when thinking about its relationship to Art Nouveau. The first was the use of metal in the room
for the bars that elegantly design the walls and ceiling. Cast iron was preferred to use in Art
Nouveau designs which is what seems to have been used in The Peacock Room. The other
thing that stood out to me were the designs specifically on the ceilings. They have these turns
and edges that have some sort of flow which then lead to the dangling lanterns above the room.
The possible use of cast iron and the elegant design of the ceiling and the shelves along the
walls are what seem to have something in common with Art Nouveau.

3. What do you notice about this painting, and how does it relate to other art we’ve
studied in this chapter?

In The Kiss, I noticed the many different patterns in the image. I can see these
curving lines on the body of the man, swirling inward to create a shape similar to sea
shells. I see similar patterns in O ye, all ye that walk in Willowwood by Margaret
Macdonald. I see these curling patterns in what seems to be the hair of a woman to the
top left of the image. Both these images have exaggerated lines that curve in multiple
directions to create that elegant look that is a major part of Art Nouveau.

4. What do you notice? How do the formal elements express a particular emotion?
 The first thing I noticed was how the negative shapes in the image are so vast
and contorted. I can see how the background is supposed to be a body of water with far
hills and a shore. The middle ground is a boardwalk with other people walking farther
down it. The foreground, which is also the main focus of the image, is an eerie human
with an odd anatomy. The use of these bending lines leaves an unsure sight to the
viewer to glance at. The image looks as if it is bending with wind. The colors used are
vibrant as there is a clear separation between the hills and the multi-colored sky. These
elements in the image along with the eerie human creates an uncomfortable feeling for
the viewers. The use of line is so contorted, almost as if the land and sky is bending with
sound waves. I believe this could make sense since the title of the image is The Scream.
Perhaps the space in the painting is how the person screaming sees the world around
them. Their scream is creating contortion and uncertainty.

5. What did you notice as you dove deep into this painting? What more did you learn
from reading?

I noticed that in the painting there seems to be a large clash and celebration of many
different looking people. There are men and women mixed in the crowd with a variety of
expressions and masks. As mentioned in the video, a man who seems to be Christ in the midst
of the explosion of society, color and expression. At first I thought maybe Christ is there as there
is a large gathering of many people and he is supposed to resemble hope and faith in society.
As I read more, I see that there is only a small amount of people giving attention to Christ.
Maybe this painting was a way of showing how society is losing its touch to religion and faith
while in the middle of dealing with other subjects.

6. What do you notice, spending time with this painting? What feels familiar? What
feels new?

One thing I noticed was how some human figures in the image are missing their faces.
We can see how some of the individuals in the image have faces simply drawn out with a couple
of lines to create some form of expression. I also noticed how the use of color is not natural in
some ways. The tree trunks are painted with a mixture of what seems to be blue and green.
Then there are the leaves that are oddly mixed together. While the trees shown in the image
can grow leaves of those colors, they do not grow those same colors in the same weather or
regions. We can see a mixture of leaves colored yellow, brown, red, green and pink. What feels
already familiar is the use of nudity in a scene which has been shown in many other artworks I
have seen in the past. What does feel new is the mixture of extremely vibrant colors being used
along with nudity. I haven’t seen an image with the use of both of these features to create a
scene.

7. What do you notice? What feels familiar, and what feels new? After reading or
watching the Smarthistory conversation, what might you add?
 Something I noticed was the scene of daily life. These types of scenes feel
familiar to me as I have seen scenes like this in impressionist artworks. What is new to
me in this painting is the style that it is painted in. While I have seen similar scenes, I
have not seen daily life being painted in a style like this along with the color choice.
There is not much detail in the faces of the people in the paintings and in the clothing
they wear. Although there is not much detail in these areas of the painting, the viewer is
clearly able to see the different shapes, colors and people in the image. After reading
more about the painting, I can understand the feeling of the people feeling so compact
and cornered in the large crowd. The faces do not seem to be expressing joy or
excitement, but they hardly seem to show any expression at all. Almost as if the emotion
in the crowd is lost within the cluster of life.

8. What do you see-content and form? How do they relate to their earlier
predecessors?

The people in both images are created with defined and exaggerated shapes. The colors
used are vibrant in both images, but in Noldes’ 1909 The Last Supper, the viewer's attention is
drawn to the man who seems to be Christ. This man is dressed in a bright white top with a
vibrant red robe which reels in the eyes of the viewers. In Crucifixion 1912, the image is a lot
more aggressive and disturbing. The colors are dark and strong which convey a heavy feeling.
The faces on the individuals are noticeably upset and saddened. The reason these images
relate to earlier predecessors is because they are all depicting the same scene and story. The
difference is within the way emotions are told with the use of color and details.

9. Read about Kandinsky in the textbook, then examine this painting up close.
Describe what you notice.

Kandinskys’ artwork looks like the inside of a mind when someone is brainstorming.
Kandinsky believed that music caused emotions, spirit and imagination to awaken. The image is
hard to analyze as shapes and colors are colliding. There isn’t a single subject to focus on in the
painting. Some things I could spot were music notes and what seems to possibly be musical
instruments. The uncertainty of what the viewer is looking at is what actually draws in the eyes.
It is like you know what you are looking at but at the same time you are not sure. Something
else I noticed was how there does not seem to be a ground/floor. It is like the image is in a cloud
of ideas and color, which makes me further believe that we are looking at what a person can be
brainstorming when listening to music.

10. What do you notice about Schiele’s art-and Mutu’s observations of it?

Schiele’s art does not dive deep into detail. Schieles’ art floats around simplicity and
quick ideas which seems to be put directly onto a canvas. Human anatomy and body language
seems to be a big interest in the way Schiele creates his artwork. The people in the images
seem to be in the moment and in their own skin. Schiele captures humans in what seems to be
moments where they are alone and in their natural state and not a member of society and
keeping social norms in their head. He wants to capture the rawness of human nature. I think
that Mutus’ observations were so accurate and truthful regarding what is shown in the images
and what Schiele may have been thinking throughout the sketches.

11. What do you notice about Brancusi’s sculpture?

Brancusis’, Sleeping Muse 1 is very simplistic which makes me understand why he

would want it to be displayed how he wished. He wanted his work of art to be seen in his studio
along with his other art pieces. I believe that the reasoning for this was because seeing all of the
sculptures together would create some type of pattern, theme and/or idea for the viewers.
Displaying that single sculpture on its own does not do it justice, as viewers may not see no
creativity or much effort. It could be viewed as undone or an unfinished project. Seeing Sleeping
Muse 1 alongside Brancusis’ other artworks completes the viewers’ perspective and can give
the viewer a complete idea of what Brancusi was attempting to display.