Civil War Art Revival

 
 Nowadays, the Civil War is still on the minds of Americans. Movies and museums are being made to commemorate the historic event in history. Even though the civil war was a dark time in American History; it still is something that helped shape the United States to be what it is. Artwork depicting the Civil War is not always accurate because many battles scenes had hundreds of corpses on the battleground. Artists were worried about how their artwork would be received with the gory battle scenes. According to many museum curators: “The Civil War and American Art” revisits the history of American painting and asks why art historians have often overlooked the impact of the Civil War on American artists. Many contemporary artists are now recreating scenes from this time capsuled war. This is a growing trend for recreations and it will continue to grow.

http://www.artnews.com/2013/05/15/the-civil-war-in-art-then-andnow/

Artwork about Angry Birds

 Lee Walton is an artist, that made artwork that was inspired by the popular mobile game Angry Birds. He create his charcoal sketches while playing the game. He connects his iPad to a projector to begin his sketching of the blocks in the scenery. As he continues playing the game he erases the blocks that were destroyed. As each level ends he boldly outlines what is left after the blocks are collapsed. His work was inspired by his daughter's obsession with the game. The artist was quoted saying, "[it] was a weird combination of leisure and work". Walton will continue doing more works like this in the future.
   
http://www.artnews.com/2013/05/07/lee-walton-angry-birds-drawings/

Giants Take Over Rockefeller Center

 
 In the course of three days Rockefeller Center Plaza was taken over by a fleet of giants. These giant pieces of art were created by a Swedish artist named Ugo Rondinone. Ugo has not been to New York since 2007 when he built another art exhibit. The exhibit is called, "Human Nature" and is part of the re-installation of the Rockefeller Center Show which is the return of public art there. These 'giants' are truly gigantic weighing roughly thirty thousand pounds each and stand up to twenty feet high. Ugo's goal of the exhibit is to have people feel awed in the presence of giant rocks in the era of technology.

http://www.artnews.com/2013/04/25/rondinone-gentle-giants-rockefeller-center/

Pakistani Artist

 Shahzia Sikander is an artist from Pakistan with a unique style. She creates animations that utilize traditional Indian and Persian miniature painting styles. The style is not used by many people in the world. Sikander uses this style from small drawings to room-scale painting installations and to animated videos. Ian Berry the director of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery supports her by saying, "Shahzia mixes history, personal feelings and experiences, and very contemporary art making-firing on all cylinders at the same time-in her masterfully crafted works". Her artwork is now world-wide and people are recognizing the traditional artwork. The Pakistani culture is very proud of her work and hopes that others will embrace it like she has.

http://www.artnews.com/2013/04/15/shahzia-sikander-maximalist-miniatures/

Art Domes are the New Thing!!!

There are new trends in the Art museum world nowadays. More and more domes are being created around the world; that display art for free! The latest dome called VW Dome 2 was created by MoMA PS1 was built by Rockaway beach in New York. The dome is very near where super-storm Sandy hit last fall. The Dome is part of the Rockaway Rescue Alliance; whose goal is to bring relief to the region. Besides offering art, the Dome will offer different classes and instruction of art, dance, and other activities. The Dome isn't purely an art exhibit the director says. His goal is, "...literally that it should be in service to the community".

http://www.artnews.com/2013/04/11/moma-ps1-vm-dome-2-in-rockaway-beach/

ART BURGER!

In 1962, Claes Oldenburg created the art exhibit called Floor Burger. People in 1967 picketed against the burger display saying, "Don't Burger Up Our Gallery" but there were people supporting the exhibit by parading with nine-foot-high ketchup bottles. Nowadays, the burger is very popular at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, it will be on display April 14th. The burger was sewn together by the artist's wife and it is stuffed with foam and cardboard cartoons. Sherry Phillips the conservator at the museum, has been tasked with restoring this masterpiece. Phillips said that surprisingly the 'Floor Burger' is in great condition. Over the years people have tried laying on the art exhibit like a beanbag and people have tried stealing the pickle on top. Hopefully, the 'Floor Burger' will continue to be a masterpiece for generations.

http://www.artnews.com/2013/04/08/restoring-oldenburg-burge/

Interesting Art News

 
This week the world renowned artist Art Fearing created a new art exhibit.  It is an exhibit called "Hong Kong for Life". The admission cost of entering the exhibit is $15, and there is a bonus to the exhibit which is an actual buffet where people can eat all they want. Art was quoted saying, "Hong Kong Buffet is the best place to eat anywhere, I go there to eat four plates at minimum." The exhibit is an exact replica of the original Hong Kong Buffet in Sturgeon Bay. Art spent roughly sixty-nine hours meticulously constructing the restaurant from raw earth materials. Luckily, Art has hunting and gathering skills obtained from WHAP to gain the materials to build the exhibit. The exhibit will be up by next month right next to the Original Hong Kong Buffet.