Non Western Blog 2

Pierre Bodo
Le Grand Sapeur

2005
Acrylic on canvas
70.87 x 51.18 inches
180 x 130 cm

Pierre Bodo
Le mystère de l’Aquarium

2002
Oil on canvas
50 X 71 5/8 inches
127 X 182 cm

Pierre Bodo
Untitled

2001
Acrylic on canvas
54 3/8 X 75 5/8 inches
138 X 192 cm

Pierre Bodo

Pierre Bodo was born in Mandu, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1953.  He presently works and lives in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Pierre Bodo is one of the founders and main proponents of the Zaïre School of Popular Painting.  His works strongly portray his belief to create art that could change the path of history.  Bodo paints anything and describes everything that he has seen or experienced in his life.  Pierre Bodo’s works of art became chronicles, pamphlets, manifestos, demands or advice.  He is a very popular painter.  One of the main themes that he painted was called the “Ndoki Zoba” (sorcery).  The point of these paintings was to discourage the practice of sorcery.  Later, in 1980, Bodo converted to Christianity, and he joined the Pentecostal church.  He was one of the most passionate pastors of “world evangelism.”

During the early 1990’s, Bodo enhanced his style significantly so he would be able to express his personal ideas and that they would have more impact.  His goals were to improve life and to share his dreams of a better world.  Later, he worked with strange symbolic or fantasy subject matter from his dreams.  He expresses everything that happens to him throughout his work.  He doesn’t focus on particularly African topics and he addresses himself to the world.  Some of his works River of Delights, Ignorance, or Love, the Source of Life, perfectly show his beliefs and his goals.

The reason why I chose this artist’s work to talk about is because I like the way he uses bright colors and how his pieces of work look so lively.  I like how interesting and weird his subjects look throughout his paintings.  I think his pieces are very creative and draw your eyes to look at them more and wonder what was going through the artist’s mind.

Sources:

CAACART.com. http://www.caacart.com/pigozzi-artist.php?i=Bodo-Pierre&m=38&s=253 (accessed April 29, 2010).

CAACART.com. http://www.caacart.com/pigozzi-artist.php?i=Bodo-Pierre&bio=en&m=38 (accessed April 29, 2010).

Non Western Blog

Steel Drum

Steel drums are also known as steel pans.  They are a musical instrument and a form of music that came from Trinidad and Tobago during the early 20^th century.  Steel drummers are called pannists.  The steel drum is a hammered 55-gallon oil barrel that is tuned by hand to make the perfect musical tones.  They are built using sheet metal that has 0.8 mm and 1.5 mm thickness. Traditionally, they were built from used oil barrels.  The drums used to be shaped like a dome rather than a dish.  There are many different kinds of instruments that make up the family of the steel band instruments.  In the beginning, they consisted of one resonance body only and they were called Around the neck instruments.  Later on, they became chromatic. Steel drums are hit by a pair of sticks that are tipped with rubber.  Some of the musicians use four sticks to hit the drum.   They hold two in each hand.  This instrument is the National Instrument of Trinidad and Tobago.

During the late 1800’s, on the island of Trinidad, under the British Colonial rule, hand drums were used as a neighborhood gang call.  In 1886, to stop the violence, the government outlawed hand drums.  This led to the creation of the Steel Drum.

Steel Drum sticks

After they were outlawed, the Trini musicians started to form bands called Tamboo Bamboo.  Each member would hold a piece of bamboo and pound it on the ground.  Each unique rhythmic signature would represent each neighborhood.  When two bands meet together on a march, they stopped playing and started attacking each other.  The government then decided to outlaw the bamboo bands as well.  Without having drums to play on to make music, the musicians tapped and drummed on milk cans, paint buckets, old car parts, and empty oil barrels.

In the late 1930’s, a musical player named Winston “Spree” Simon was fixing his barrel head after an Iron Band session and he discovered that the dented part on his drum made a fascinating sound.  After discovering this sound, he played with it all night and by the next day, he came up with four different tones.  He was credited for being the first one to create the first tones on a steel drum.

Another musical player during the 1930’s was Ellie Mannette and he was the first person to give the steel pan its mature form.  He was known as the father of the modern steel pan instrument.  During the years, many tuners started to experiment with the drums and in time, large groups of drum players turned into orchestrated bands.

Ellie Mannette

Musical competitions started each year at a carnival and it replaced the street fights.  In 1963, the first Panorama Steel Band Championship was part of the island’s Independence celebration.  There are two contests that are held at Panorama, one is for the best arrangement of a popular song and the other contest shows each of the bands performing an orchestrated classical piece.

The first contest was held in the 1960’s, and for more than a half century, the rivalries between the neighborhood steel bands are continuing to this day.  Instead of fighting in the streets, they battle it out with music.

I picked this object to talk about because one of my favorite instruments is a drum.  I’ve always liked the sound that came from the steel drum and I’ve always wanted to learn more about it.  I like how the music is so upbeat and exciting.

Sources:

Wikipedia.com. “Steel pan”, April 22, 2010.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_drum (accessed April 22, 2010).

Wikipedia.com. “Ellie Mannette”, April 1, 2010.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellie_Mannette (accessed April 22, 2010).

When Steel Talks. “Concert in honor of Ellie Mannette”, 2008.  http://www.panonthenet.com/news/2008/mar/pan_concert_3-31-08.htm (accessed April 22, 2010).

Toucans.net. “Steel Pan History”, 2010.  https://classes.uaf.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1&url=%2fwebapps%2fblackboard%2fexecute%2flauncher%3ftype%3dCourse%26id%3d_60839_1%26url%3d (accessed April 22, 2010).

Kakesa.com. 2003.  http://kakesa.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=16&sort=2a&page=2 (accessed April 22, 2010).

YouTube Steel Drum links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-bTMbePj0A&feature=related (Under the Sea: Little Mermaid)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQu5Unc_TNY (Making a Steel Drum)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IAteD9IiLs  (Mario on Steel Drums)

A Contemporary Virtual Exhibit Blog

My idea for a theme for an art exhibit would be called Images That Make You Think and Wonder.

One artist that I would put into this exhibit would be Michael Goldberg.  He was born on December 24, 1924 in Bronx, New York.  Goldberg was an American abstract expressionist painter and was also a teacher that was known for his gesture action, abstraction, and still-life paintings.  At the age of fourteen, he began to take art classes at the Art Students League of New York City.  In the early 1950’s, he began showing his action artwork in group shows in galleries in New York City.  During the 1950’s, he started to study painting.  By the 1970’s and 1980’s, his artwork began to be appreciated by others around him.  Goldberg had a long and successful career as an abstract painter.  Goldberg’s work and others that were painting in the style of the abstract expressionism showed a combination of Western metaphysics and Eastern philosophy.  Throughout his career, he continued to teach others, paint, and show his work.  He died at the age of 83 on December 31, 2007.

Asturiana

Michael Goldberg

Oil stick on canvas

1992

Italian Landscape III

Michael Goldberg

Oil on canvas

2002

Ohne Titel /Untitled

Michael Goldberg

Mixed Media on paper

2002

Another artist that I would pick to put into my exhibit would be Norman Bluhm.  Bluhm was an American painter that was an abstract expressionist and an action painter.  Norman Bluhm was born on March 28, 1921 in Chicago, Illinois.  After his service in World War II, he decided not to continue with his architectural studies.  He studied art at the Academia de Belle Arte in Florence, Italy and also at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.  In the 1940’s and 1950’s he lived in Paris.  Bluham was married to a woman named Claude Souvrain until 1956.  He then went back to the United States in 1956.  Later he married a woman named Carolyn Ogle in 1961.  They both lived in New York City with their two children, David and Nina until 1969.  In 1970 to 1980, he and his family lived in Millbrook, New York and in 1980 to 1987 they lived in East Hampton, New York.  His family lived in East Wallingford, Vermont until he died on February 3, 1999.

Sooty Lady

Norman Bluhm

Oil on canvas

1978

Guillotine Lady

Norman Bluhm

Oil on canvas

1980

Ode to Apollo

Norman Bluhm

Oil on canvas

1997

All these pieces of art fit in my theme because by looking at them, it makes you think and wonder what the images could be and why the piece was titled that way.  You could also see a story that is being told inside the images.  I thought all these pieces of art were interesting.  The bright colors that were used in all these images are what caught my eye.  I really like all the bold and small line detail throughout all these pieces.  I also like how you can see all the different shapes or subjects in the images as well.  It is interesting how simple the image looks, but they are busy-looking at the same time.

Sources:

Wikipedia.com. “Norman Bluhm”, December 5, 2009.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Bluhm (accessed April 16, 2010).

Wikipedia.com. “Michael Goldberg”, December 21, 2009.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Goldberg#Biography (accessed April 16, 2010).

Artnet.com. “Michael Goldberg”, 2010.  http://www.artnet.com/Artists/ArtistHomePage.aspx?artist_id=7124&page_tab=Artworks_for_sale (accessed April 16, 2010).

http://www.normanbluhm.com/images.html (accessed April 16, 2010).

Early Modern Blog

Louis Armstrong

Louis Armstrong described his view of life when he spoke in the introduction to his 1970 recording It’s A Wonderful World. He said, “And all I’m saying is, see what a wonderful world it would be if only we would give it a chance. Love, baby, love. That’s the secret. Yeah.”  Written by Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, It’s a Wonderful World was recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968.  This song was written to calm racial and political tensions in the United States.  It is a song which is hopeful and optimistic in regards to the future.  It talks about babies being born and looking forward to life.

Tony Bennett was offered to record this song at first, but he turned it down.  It was than offered to Louis Armstrong.  Having an African American singer record this song was important because it helped to calm racial tensions, and Armstrong’s unique, deep, scratchy voice made this an attention-grabbing and memorable song.  At first, this song was not very popular in the United States.  In fact, it actually sold less than 1000 copies because the head of ABC Records did not like the song and did not promote it.  It was #116 on the charts.  However, the song was number one in the United Kingdom and the single that sold the most copies in 1968.

Eventually, this song became popular and was released again in America a short time after Louis Armstrong died in 1971.

I really like his music and the way he played because it seems so happy and relaxing.  I feel that somehow the music is telling me a story.  I also like how it’s so different from the music of today’s era.

Song Lyrics:

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

Sources:

Wikipedia.  “What a Wonderful World”, April 2, 2010.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_a_Wonderful_World (accessed April 5, 2010).

Links to Love.  “What a Wonderful World”.  http://www.links2love.com/love_lyrics_128.htm (accessed April 5, 2010).