Response to Visual Symposium #5

        Due to the presenters of the animation visual symposium not showing up, we were lectured by Brett Reif on the "Alternate Avenue Into Modern Art." Brett's lecture explored the thought of how all artists manufacture art, regardless of era, to be as real as possible.
        A somewhat controversial view, the lecture illustrated no matter how abstracted or disproportionate an artwork may be, it can be seen as "realistic" as it represents the artists' interpretation of reality. Such an example can be seen in Michelangelo's "David," where David's hands are disproportionately large when viewed directly straight on. However, since David is on a pedestal and is viewed at an angle, Michelangelo sculpted David's hands to be larger so that it could be viewed "realistically" from the angle of its audience. Often times, works would often reflect the "realities" of their time periods in many different ways. Baroque artwork was indicative of whimsical, frivolous lifestyle lead by the monarchy. However, art eras generally reject the previous eras, as seen in Neo-Classical art; geometric lines and solid portraiture rejected the fanciful poses and pastel colors of the Baroque style.
        Photography would then be one of the greatest opponents to the portrayed "reality" found within artworks by simply capturing an image. Despite this obstacle, artists still found missing elements within photography and challenged it to become more abstract in order to capture the missing realities. This would lead into the world of abstraction and cubism, where artists would attempt to express in art how the brain's generalized what it perceived. Abstraction would then be further pushed into surrealism, which dealt with the subconscious reality of dreams.
        Although some artworks may seem abstract or irregular, it can be argued that all artwork is "realistic" because they depict how the artist perceives their reality. The differences in perception is what allows artwork to be unique, appeal to various audiences, and even possibly cause artistic movements.