Well after being locked out of my many private schools because of unnecessary restrictions from our CA Governor Newsom, a door opened for me to teach art at CASA a home-school group here in Camarillo. If you want more info on CASA go to Home | C.A.S.A (casacamarillo.com). Monday, April 11th, 2022 at 7 pm many of these art pieces will be showcased at their annual Art Show at Camarillo Community Church Fellowship Hall.
What a joy it was to inspire these Middle and High School students with art and a historical background of what was occurring during these various styles. As I shared about one of my favorite artists and architects, Spanish Art Nouveau Artist Antonio Gaudi, I was inspired to take them on an art adventure to visit Barcelona Spain and see his pieces in person!! I am not sure how that would go on a homeschool budget?!
Do you recognize some of these famous masterpieces? How is your recognition of them, or do you need a class to attend to brush up on skills and history this summer? I will point out a few for you.
The first photograph above is from the Symbolism style - “The Scream”. Here the artist Edvard Munch, is using symbols to express much of his anxiety and fears. He had a very troubling past and it shows up i his art pieces. This would be a great exercise to draw and paint getting out some of our pent-up emotions from a 2-year lockdown!
“The Black Cat” was created during Art Nouveau (New Art in French)-for a theatrical production. Art Nouveau was a flamboyant response to the industrial age. This print was created by Theophile Streinlen, a Swiss artist who gravitated like many others to Paris for inspiration from this new movement. In fact, the Eiffel Tower was part of the World’s Fair in 1900 showcasing this New Style and thankfully was not torn down after the exhibit!
The next two pictures are from another French art style called “Fauvism” (Wild Beast). The artists were criticized at their salon exhibition and instead of wilting at the derisive title they embraced the name “Fauvism” and adopted that for their art movement. The artist both of these ladies picked is French painter Henri Matisse.
Great job to all my students, you did outstanding work and can’t wait to see the art exhibit and recital on Monday!